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HISTORY /i,^Ur, J

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ADMINISTRATION

OF

f o!m anams, esq*

LATE PRESIDENT

OF THE

UNITED STATES.

BY JOHN WOOD,

Author of the Hiftory of Switzerland, and Swifs Revolution.

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THE NEW YOHK

PUBLIC LIBRARY

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HISTORY

Of

THE ADMINISTRATION

OF

JOHN ADAMS.

CHAPTER I.

Introductory Remarks,... Biography of Mr, Adams..,.
Reviezo of his Political Tenets.... Causes of his
Election.

X HE United State > of America enjoyed, under
the administration of the illustrious Washington,
all those advantages which result from the prudent
policy of a virtuous magistrate. The peaceful sys-
tem which he pursued, repaired, in a great measure,
the injuries sustained by a long and expensive civil
war. His interests and passions were the same as
those of the people, and a constant communica-
tion of good offices kept alive their attachments.
During the first four years of the present confede-
racy, the second station of executive public em-
ployment, and all of the third ^rade^ remained in

A

THE ADMIN ISTRATIOl^

the same hands ; nor did any changes take place m
the more subordinate, but from voluntary resigna-
tion and death. -The public debt decreased in a
much greater proportion than ever was known to
take place in the same period, in any nation of the
world.... the expences of government w^ere also
much less, in proportion to wealth and numbers,
than those of any kingdom in Europe. Affairs re-
mained in this prosperous state until the conclusion
of Jay's Treaty, which the growing propensity for
commerce and interest had effected. Then, for
the first time, those generous maxims of liberty
which had established our independence, were
observed to suffer....our towns and villages were im-
mediately stocked w4th British agents, Nova-Sco-
tian tories. and French royalists. ...the epithet of
royalist became a distinction more powerful than
merit, and the name of republican tlie most odious
of titles. The voluntary resignation of Washing-
ton, who, probably, perceived the disorders which
were to follow, and the election of a monarchical
President, gave a four years triumph to this Hydra
of despotism^ Before I relate the tyranny and cor-
ruption which disfigured this period, it may not
be improper to give a short account of the life
of Mr. Adams, his political tenets, and the in
cidents attending his election. This will form the
■design of the present chapter.

John Adams was born at Braintree, in Massa-
chusetts, the 19th of October, 1735. General re-
port states his father to have been a shoemaker,

OF JOHN ADAMS. ^

and the descendant of a Scotch family who emi-
grated to Massachusetts Bay about 1650. Young
Adams is also .said to have prosecuted, for several
years, the same business 5 until, by the advice of
his uncle, who was a village schoolmaster, he ap-
plied himself to the study of letters, and relinquish-
ed the occupation of Crispin. In the year 1755 he
taught a school near Braintree, and continued in
this sphere of life for several years. At w^hat pe-
riod he commenced the study of law is uncer-
tain....we only know that on the 5th of March,
1770, he advocated the cause of monarchy at Boston,
in the case of Captain Preston, who barbarously put
to death several citizens of that tov^-n. Dr. Morse,
in a short biography which he has given of Mr.
Adams, has the* following particulars respecting
this trial : " The cause of Captain Preston w^as most
unpopular. The whole town had been in a state
of irritation on account of the conduct of Governor
Hutchinson,^ and the troops w^hich were stationed
in it....their resentment now burst into a flame. ..but
he felt the cause to be a just one ; and the danger
of incurring the displeasure of his countrymen
could not deter him from undertaking it. He con-
ducted the cause with great address, by keeping
off the trial till the passions of the people had tim.e
to subside. The trial at length commerced, and
lasted several days, during which, he displayed the
mest extensive knowledge of the laws of his coun-
try, and of humanity ; and, at tlie conclusion, he
had the satisfaction of proving to Great-Britain

4 THE ADMINISTRATION

herself, that the citizens of Massachusetts would
be just and humane to their enemies, amidst the
grossest insults and provocations." Captain Pres-
ton was acquitted.

Mr. Adams was afterwards elected a member
cfthe first Congress, in 1774, and certainly assist-
ed at bringing about the memorable resolution of
the 4th of July, 1776, which declared the Ame-
rican Colonies free, sovereign, and independent
States.

Having been, for a considerable length of time,
one of the commissioners of the War-department,
and a principal suggestorof the terms to be offered
to France, for forming a treaty of alliance and
commerce, he was sent to the court of Versailles,
along with Franklin and Lee, ^s Ministers Pleni-
potentiaries of the United States, to consummate
that important business. On his return from France,
he was called upon by Massachusetts to assist in
forming a plan of governm.ent ; and this State is,
without doubt, indebted to Mr. Adams, both for
the excellencies as well as imperfections of its pre-
sent constitution.

When this business was completed, he return-
ed to Europe, vested with full powers from Con-
gress, to assist at any conference which might be
opened for the establishment of peace; and he
soon after received other powers to negociate a
Joan of money for the use of the United States ;
and to represent them as their Minister Plenipo-
tentiary, to their High Mightinesses the States
General of the United Provinces,

OF JOHN ADAMS. 5

While in Europe, Mr. Adams published his
Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the
United States of America. To ascertain the politi-
cal creed of Mr. Adams, it is only necessary to con-
sider a few passages in the preface to this elabo-
rate compilation. According to Mr. Adams, a mo-
narchy, limited by an aristocratlcal and a democrat-
ical power in the constitution, is the most perfect
government of any. '^The Enghsh," he says, "by
blending together the feudal institutions with those
of Greece and Rome, have made that noble com-
position which avoids the inconveniencies and re-
tains the advantages of both; and that it would be
the height of folly to go back to the institutions of
Woden and Thor and of the ancient Germans, after
knowing the History of England.'* Hume and
Robertson, he asserts, have given such admirable
accounts of the feudal institutions, and their conse-
quences, that it would have been, perhaps, more dis-
creet in him to have referred to them, without say-
ing any thing upon the subject.

As the principles of Mr. Adams respecting
government, are erected upon the feudal system,
and as the theory which he has adopted con-
cerning that system, appears, by his own confession,
to be drawn from Hume and Robertson, it is on-
ly necessary, in order to expose the fallacy of the
political structure which Mr. Adams has raised, to
detect a few ofthe leading errors of these writers.

Hume and Robertson, it is well known, were
the slaves of a faction, and that they meanly pros-

6 THE ADMINISTRATION

tituted their talents to vindicate tyranny, and de-
stroy the rights of their nation. ...they dwell on
what they term the aristocratical genius of ancient
times. ...they take a pleasure in painting the
power of the Saxon nobles, and in displaying the
abjectness of the people of ancient Britain. From
a view of paying a compliment to royalty, they af-
fect to consider the Normian invasion as the proper
^ra of the British constitution; and William the
Robber, as the founder of English liberty. Mr.
Hume says ''none of the feudal governments in Eu-
rope had such institutions as the county courts,
which the great authority of the Conqueror still re-
tained from the Saxon customs.... all the freehold-
ers of the county, even the greatest barons, were
obliged to attend the sheriffs in these courts, and to
assist them in the administration of justice."

In every feudal kingdom, how^ever, notwith-
standing this strong affirmation, the comes was
known and the comitatus. The comitatus, or
county, was the territory or estate of the comes ;
and the court he held, and in which he presided,
was the county court, to v/hich the freeholders and
feudators were called, and acted as assessors or
Judges." *

Mr. Hume says in another place, ''that the
great authority of the Conqueror retained the coun-
ty courts from the Saxon customs." He thus in-
fers that these courts were favorable to the royal
authority. The fact, however, is exactly the reverse.

♦ Dr. Gilbert Stuart's View, of Society in Europe.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 7

The greaterjurisdiction there is in the nobles and
the people, the more limited is the prerogative of
princes. The county courts were eminent and for-
midable supports of the liberty of the subject ;
and instead of Qrivinsf them encouraoement, it was
the interest of the Conqueror to employ his great
authority in their suppression.

Mr. Hume, notwithstanding a variety of autho-
rities which oppose his assertions, expresses himself
to the following purpose. (Appendix 2d, to the
History of England.) ^^ The great similarity among
all the feudal governments of Europe is well known
to every man that has any acquaintance with an-
cient history ; and the antiquaries of all foreign
countries, where the question was never embarrass-
ed by party disputes, have allowed, that the com-
mons were very late in being admitted to a share in
the legislative power."

The learned work of Archbishop Hincmar, Ee
Ordine Palatii, places this matter in a very differ-
ent light ; and the Abbe Mably, who copies and
comments upon it, acknowledges the supreme
power of the assemblies of the ancient Germans and
Saxons, selects examples of it, and of the inter-
ference and consideration of the people. In fact,
nothing of any moment or value, in peace or in war,
could be done v/ithout their approbation. Their
assemblies, however, were very different from the
Elats Generaux of after times, when the rights of
the people were insulted, and the legislative power
came to reside in the sovereifrn....yet It is not unconi-

O THE ADMINISTRATION

mon to confound them , and on the foundation of
this error, improper conclusions have been inferred
against the commons of England.

While liberty and the deputies of the people
made a figure, and while the prerogative of the
sovereign v^^as restrained and directed by nation-
al councils and assemblies, in the other countries
of Europe, it appears the height of v/ildness to
conclude, as Hume has done in his History of Eng-
land, and Robertson in his plausible introduction
to the History of Charles V. that in Britain, the
inhabitants were in a state of slavery ; and that
the mandate of the Prince was lav/. His condition,
so far from being despotic, was every moment ex-
posed to danger and insult. He might be depo-
sed for a slight offence. ...he was elected to his of-
fice....and his coronation oath expressed his sub-
jection to the community, and bound him to pro-
tect the rights of his subjects.

The Anglo-Saxon laws are proofs, that instead
of governing by his will or caprice, he was under
the controul of the national assembly. In the pre-
ambles to them, w^e find that the zvites or sapientes,
were a constituent branch of the government.
The expression, senioi^es sapientes populi meiy is a
part of the prologue to the ordinations of King
Ina, anno 712. And these sapientes populi, or
deputies of the people, appear in the laws of other
princes of the Anglo-Saxons.

By a curious testimony, it is even obvious that
the w^ord sapientes must have meant the commons^

OF JOHN ADAMS. 9

In the supplication del County dc Devonshire to
Edward III. there are these expressions : " Q>ue
luy please par Vavys des prelats, countees, barons, et
autres sages in cest present parliament ordeiner, 8sC.
The bishops, the earls, barons and oilier sages, in
this present parliament, ordain." This supplication
is printed in the 4 Inst. p. 232, in the reign of the
third Edward : from the autres sages expressing
the commons, it may surely be decisively infer-
red that sapientes had the same meaning in older
times.

In fact, the expressions that denote the Anglo-
Saxon assemblies, allude to their nationality. "Co???-
mune concilium, convenlus omniumy cvncilimn cleri
et populi, oynnium principium et omnium sapientum
conventuSy Ss'c. The common council, the general
assembly, the assembly of the clergy and people,
the convention of all the chiefs and all the wise
men," are appellations which mark forcibly the
interference and assistance of the commons.

Dr. Robertson has, with more art, although not
with equal force of thought and reasoning, incul-
cated the same opinions as Mr. Hume. The for-
mer was better versed in Jesuitical intrigue, the
latter deeper founded in metaphysical argument.
They both employed themselves in the cause of
monarchy, and their works, from beginning to
conclusion, can only be regarded as plausible de-
fences of prerogative. Mr. Adams, trusting to the
undue weight of what are called great authorities,

B

10 THE ADMINISTRATION

Las put implicit confidence in their assertions, and
in a theory which was framed by them, for the ex-
press purpose of complimenting royalty at the ex-
pence of their nation.

From the same cause have sprung the Senates
of the United States. In England, and every other
country where the feudal system has been establish-
ed, an order of men superior to the commons ne-
cessarily exist, and must remain until a total revolu-
tion in property as well as government takes place ;
but in America, where the distinction of superior and
vassal is unknown, and where men hold their pro-
perty by an equal tenure, the erection ofa senate,
or house of chieftains, is a direct violation of the
rights of citizens, and can serve no other purpose
than to clog the wheels of government, and add
to the national expence.

Mr. Adams urges as an argument in favor of
the establishment of a Senate, '^ that the rich, the
well-born and the able, acquire an influence among
the people that would soon be too much for simple
honesty and plain sense in a House of Representa-
tives. The most illustrious of them should, there-
fore, be separated from the mass, and placed
by themselves in a Senate; this is, to all hon-
est and useful intents, an ostracism. A member
of a Senate of immense wealth, the most respected
birth and transcendant abilities, has no influence
in the nation, in comparison of what he would
have in a single representative assembly. A¥hen a
Senate exists, the most powerful man in the State

OF JOHN ADAMS^. 11'

may safely be admitted into the House of Repre-
sentatives, because the people have it in their pow-
er to remove him into the Senate as soon as his in-
fluence becomes dangerous/' A weaker argument,
than this, could scarcely have been conceived ;
since it is obvious, that if the people have it in their
power to remove a member from the House of
Representatives into the Senate, when his power
becomes dangerous, that they have it also in their
power to elect another representative ; which w^ould
answer a much better purpose ; for, if a man's princi-
ples are such as to be dangerous in one house, the}'
will be equally so in another.

'' The Teutonic institutions described by Csesar
and Tacitus," says Mr. Adams, " are the most me-
morable experiment, merely political, ever yet made
in human affairs.... they have spread all over Europe,
and have lasted eighteen hundred years. Nothing,
therefore, ought to have more weight with America,
to determine her judgment against mixing the au-
thority of the one, the few and the many, assured-
ly in one assembly, than the wide spread miseries
and final slavery of almost all mankind, in conse-
quence of such an ignorant policy in the ancient
Germans." Mr. Adams could not possibly have
expressed sentiments more hostile to the pure prin-
ciples of republicanism than these. Itisvrellknown,.
that while the superior and the vassal, the chief and
the retainer, were intimately connected, appeared
in the same assembly, and were only distinguished
by virtue and talents, the feudal association, was

12 THE AD:VIIN1STRA TION

a state of the greatest happiness.... violence and cor-
ruption did not disfigure society, until the original
manners which the Germans broudit from their
woods began to decay. The separation of the in-
terests of the lord and the vassal, by the tv/o Houses
of Assembly, first altered the condition of society.
Sufferance soon succeeded to enjoyment, oppres-
sion to freedom, and contentions arose, which
terminated in the destruction of the independence
of the European nations. Yet this latter state is
that which Mr. Adams labours to impose upon
Am.ericans : and to divide their society, by erecting a
house ofnobk Senators in the midst of republicans.

These having been the acknov/ledged senti-
ments of ■Sir. Adams, it may appear strange how
he became the President of a free people, and the
successor of the virtuous Washington. The ser-
vices which he performed towards the establishment
of American independence, by means of his in-
trigues at the court of Versailles, and the profuse
distribution of British gold in the United States,
can only account for this extraordinary election.
But notwithstanding, upon strict enquiry, he does
not appear to have been the choice of the real ma-
jority. The following facts related by Mr. Callen-
dcr, though they may be denied by the friends of
Mr. Adams, are certainly correct.... the truth of
them has been fully ascertained :

In Pennsylvania Mr. Adams gained a vote by
the trick of a Post-master, who stopt the mail from
Greene county, till the poll vx'as closed at Philadel-

OF JOHN ADAMS. lo

phia. In Maryland he gained a second, by the folly
of one Plater, who balloted both for him and Mr.
Jefferson, from an anxiety that Mr. Adams should
be Vice-President. In Maryland he gained a third
suffrage, in the Western district of that state, by a
majority of four voices, owing to negligence on one
side, and knavery on the other. The district consists
of two counties, Alleghany and Washington. A se-
parate poll w^as held in each of them. Washing-
ton is, of the two, by far the most populous.... the
census of 1790, gives it fifteen thousand eight hun-
dred and twenty-two inhabitants, and Alleghany
no more than four thousand eight hundred and nine.
Washington is full of repubhcans, and Alleghany of
their opponents. ...the republicans put an end to
their poll as soon as they had a considerable supe-
riority of the w^hole number of genuine voters that
they knew to reside in the tvv^o counties, which
form the district. The six per cent, agitators of
Alleghany did not stop their's....they brought over a
crowd from Pennsylvania and Virginia, and by this
means made up a majority of four. Neither the
constitution nor Congress itself had provided any
check for the investigation of false votes, and the
majority of four trampled on the rights of real citi-
zens. Putting these facts together, it will appear
that Mr. Jefferson and not Mr. Adams was the
choice of America. The total number of electors
w^as one hundred and thirty-eight.... each of these
voted either for Mr. Jefferson or Mr. Adams. But
Plater voted for both. Hence instead of one hun-

14 THE ADMINISTRATION

dred and thirty-eight, the suffrages came to one
more. ...thus they mounted up to one hundred and
thirty-nine. Oflhese, Mr. Adams had seventy-one
and Mr. Jefferson sixty-eight. Laying aside the
Maryland vote of Plater, Mr. Adams will then have
seventy and i\lr. Jefferson sixty-seven.... returning
to Mr. Jeiferson the Green county vote in Penn-
sylvania, and striking out the spurious vote in the
Western district of Maryland, v^ill make an odds of
two votes. ...abstract these two from the majority of
seventy, and then Mr. Adams has only sixty-eight.
Then add these two to the sixty-seven for Mr. Jef«
ferson, and he is President by a majority of one.

CHAPTER II.

Speech of Mr. Adams, ...Speech of M7\ Jefferson....
Remarks.... British Piracy. ...Mr. Monroe's Em-
bassy.

On Saturday the 6th of March, one thousand
seven hundred and ninety-seven, Mr. Adams, as
President of the United States, attended in the
chamber of the House of Representatives to take
his oath of office, according to the direction of the
constitution. On his entrance, as well as on the
entrance of General Washington and Mr. Jeffer-
son, loud and reiterated applause burst from the
audience. Having taken his seat on the elevated

OF JOHN ADAMS. 15

chair of the Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives, the Vice-President, General Washington,
and the Secretary of the Senate on his right, the
Speaker and Clerk of the House of Representa-
tives on his left, and the Chief-Justice of the
United States and Associate Judges, at a table In
the centre, he proceeded to deliver the follov^^ing
speech :

" When it was first perceived, in early times,
that no middle course for America remained be-
tween unlimited submission to a foreign Legisla-
ture, and a total independence of its claims, men
of reflection were less apprehensive of danger,
from the formidable power of fleets and armies
they must determine to resist, than from those con-
tests and dissentions which would certainly arise
concerning the forms of government to be insti-
tuted over the whole, and over the parts of this ex-
tensive country. Relying, however, on the purity
of their intentions, the justice of their cause, and
the integrity and intelligence of the people, under
an overmling Providence, which had so signally
protected this country from the first, the represent-
atives of this nation, then consisting of little more
than half its present numbers, not only broke to
pieces the chains which were forging, and the rod
of iron that was lifted up, but frankly cut asunder
the ties which had bound them, and launched into
an ocean of uncertainty.

*'The zeal and ardor of the people during th^
revolutionary war, supplying the place of govern-

16 TIl£ ADiMINISTRATION

mcnt, commanded a degree of order, sufficient at
icast, for the temporary preservation of society. The
confederation, which was early felt to be necessary,
was prepared from the models of the Batavian and
Helvetic confederacies, the only examples which
remain, w^ith any detail and precision, in history ;
and certainly the only ones which the people at
large had ever considered. But reflecting on the
striking diflfcrence in so many particulars^ between
this country and those w^iere a courier may go from
the seat of government to the frontier in a single
da), it was then certainly foreseen, by some who
assisted in Congress at the formation of it, that it
could not be durable.

^O-^egligence ofits regulations, inattention to its
recommendations, if not disobedience to its autho-
rity, not only in individuals but in States, soon ap-
peared with their melancholy consequences. ...uni-
versal languor, jealousies and rivalries of States, de-
cline of navigation and commerce, discouragement
of necessary manufactures, universal fall in the
value of lands and their produce, contempt of pub-
lic and private faith, loss of consideration and
credit with foreign nations, and, at length, in dis-
contents, animosities, combinations, partial conven-
tions and insurrection, threatening some great na-
tional calamity.

^' In this dangerous crisis, the people of America
were not abandoned by their usual good sense,
presence of mind, resolution or integrity. ...measures
were pursued, to concert a plan to form a more per-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 17

feet union, establish justice, ensure domestic tran-
quility, provide for the common defence, promote
the general welfare, and secure the blessings of
liberty. ...The public disquisitions, discussions and
deliberations, issued in the present happy constitu-
tion of government.

" Employed in the service of my country abroad,
during the -vvbole course of these transactions. I first
saw the constitution of the United States in a fo-
reign country. Irritated by no literary altercation,
animated by no public debate, heated by no party
animosity, I read it with great satisfaction, as a
result of good heads, prompted by good hearts j as
an experiment, better adapted to the genius, cha-
racter, situation and relations of this nation and
country, than any w^hich had ever been proposed or
suggested. In its general principles and great ou*:-
lines, it was conformable to such a system of gov-
ernment, as I had ever most esteemied....and in some
States, my own State in particular, had contributed
to establish. Claiming a rigiit of suffrage, in com-
mon with my fellow citizens, in the adoption or re-
jection of a constitution which was to rule me and
my posterity, as well as them and theirs, I did not
hesitate to express my approbation of it on all oc-
casions, in public and private. It was not then, nor
has been since, any objection to it in my mind, that
the Executive and Senate w^ere not more perma-
nent, nor have I ever entertained a thought of
promoting any alteration in it, but such as the
people them.selves, in the course of their cxpcri-

C

18 THE ADMiNISTRATIClN

encc, should see or feel to be necessary or expe-
dient, and by their representatives in Congress and
the State Legislatures, according to the constitu-
tion itself, adopt and ordain.

" Returning to the bosom of my country, after
a painful separation from it for ten years, I had the
honor to be elected to a station under the new
-order of things, and I have repeatedly laid myself
imder the most serious obligations to support the
constitution. The operation of it has equalled the
most sanguine expectations of its friends ; and from
an habitual a'"tention to it, satisfaction in its ad-
ministration, and delight in its effects, upon the
peacCi order, prosperity and happiness of the nation,
I have acquired an habitual attachment to it, and
veneration for it.

" What other form of government, indeed, can
£0 well deserve our esteem and love }

^^ There may be little solidity in an ancient idea,
that congregations of men into cities and nations
are the most pleasing objects in the sight of supe-
rior intelligencies... .But this is very certain, that to
a benevolent human mind, there can be no specta-
cle presented by any nation, more pleasing, more
noble, majestic or august, than an assembly, like
that which has so often been seen in this and the
other chamber of Congress. ...of a government, in
which the Executive authority, as well as that of
all the branches of the Legislature, are exercised by
citizens, selected at regular periods by their neigh-
tours, to make and execute laws for the general

OF JOHN ADAMS. It

good. Can any thing essential, any thing more
than mere ornament and decoration, be added tc
this, by robes or diamonds ? Can authority, be
more amiable or respectable, when it descends from
accident, or institutions established in remote an-
tiquity, than when it springs fresh from the hearts
and judgments of an honest and enlightened peo-
ple ? for it is the people only that are represented r
It is their power and majesty that is reflected; and
only for their good, in every legitimate government,
under whatever form it may appear. The exist-
ence of such a government as ours, for any length
of time, is a full proof of a general dissemination of
knowledge and virtue throughout the whole body
of the people. And v/hat object or consideration,
more pleasing than this, can be presented to the
human mind r If national pride is ever justifiable
or excusable, it is when it springs not from power
or riches, grandeur or glory, but fi'om conviction of
national innocence, information and benevolence.

" In the midst of these pleasing ideas, w^e should
be unfaithful to ourselves, if we should ever lose
sight of the danger to our liberties. ...if anything
partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our
free, fair, virtuous and independent elections..

" If an election is to be determined by the ma-
jority of a single vote, and that can be procured by
a party, through artifice or corruption, the govern-
ment may be the choice of a party for its owm ends ;
not of the nation, for the national good. If that
solitary suffrage can be obtained by foreign na»

20 THE ADMINISTRATION

tions, by flattery or menaces, by fraud or violerrce,
hy terror, intrigue or venality, the government
may not be the choice of American people, but of
foreign nations. It m.ay be foreign nations who
govern us, and not we, the people, who govern
ourselves : and candid men will acknowledge,
that in such ca^es, choice would have little advan-
tage to boast of over lot or chance.

" Such is the amiable and interesting system of
government (and such are some of the abuses to
which it may be exposed) which the people of
Am.erica have exhibited to the admiration and
anxiety of the wise and virtuous of all nations, for
eight years, under the administration of a citizen,,
who, by a long course of great actions, regulated
by prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude,
conducting a people inspired with the same virtues,
and animated with the same ardent patriotism and
love of liberty, to independence and peace, to in-
creasing wealth and unexampled prosperity, has
merited the gratitude of his fellovz-citizens, com-
manded the highest praises of foreign nations, and
secured immortal glory with posterity.

'^ In that retirement Vvdiich is his voluntary choice,
may he long hve to enjoy the delicious recollection
of his services, the gratitude of mankind, the hap-
py fruits of them to himself and the world, which
are daily increasing, and that splendid prospect ot
the future fortunes of his country, v/hich is open-
ing from year to year. His mme may be still a
rampart, and the knowledge that he lives, a bul-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 21

wark against all open or secret enemies of his coun-
try's peace.

" This example has been recommended to the
imitation of his successors, by both houses of Con-
gress and by the voice of the Legislatures and the
people throughout the nation.

" On this subject it might become me better to
be silent, or to speak with diffidence. But as some-
thing maybe expected, the occasion, I hope, will be
admitted as an apology if I venture to say, that if a
preference upon principles of a free, republican gov-
ernment, formed upon long and serious reflection,
after a diligent and impartial enquiry after truth 5
if an attachment to the constitution of the United
States, and a conscientious determination to sup-
port it until it shall be altered by the judgment and
wishes of the people, expressed in the mode pre-
scribed in it ; if a respectful attention to the con-
stitutions of the individual states, and a constant
caution and delicacy towards the State- govern-
ments ; if an equal and impartial regard to the
rights, interests, honor and happiness of all the
States in the union, without preference or regard
to a northern or southern, an eastern or western
position, their various political opinions on unes-
sential points, or rather their personal attachments;
if a love of virtuous men of all parties and. denomi-
nations ; if a love of science and letters, and a wish
to patronize every rational effort to encourage
schools, colleges, universities, academies, and every
institution for propagating knowledge, virtue and

22 THE ADMINISTRATIOJJT

religion among, all classes of the people, not onljr
for their benign influence in the happiness of life
in all its stages and classes, and of society in all its
forms, but as the only means of preserving our
constitution from its natural enemies, the spirit of
sophistry, the spirit of party, the spirit of intrigue,
the profligacy of corruption and the pestilence of
foreign influence, which is the angel of destruction
to elective governments ; if a love of equal laws,
of justice and humanity in the interior administra-
tion ; if an inclination to improve agriculture, com-
merce and manufactures, for necessity, convenience
and defence ; if a spirit of equity and humanity to-
wards the aboriginal nations of America, and a dispo-
sition to meliorate their condition^ by inclining them
to be more friendly to us, and our citizens more
friendly to them ; if an inflexible determination to
maintain peace and inviolable faith with all nations,
and that system of neutrality and impartiality among
the belligerent powers of Europe, which has been
adopted by this government, and so solemnly sanc-
tioned by both houses of Congress, and applauded
by the legislatures of the States, and the public
opinion, until it shall be otherwise ordained by
Congress ; if a personal esteem for the French na-
tion, formed in a residence of seven years, chiefly
among them, and a sincere desire to preserve the
friendship which has been so much for the honour
and interest of both nations ; if, while the con-
scious honour and integrity of the people of Ame-
rica, and the internal sentiment of their own pow-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 23

er and energies must be preserved, an earnest en-
deavor to investigate every just cause, and re-
move every colourable pretence of complaint ;
if an intention to pursue, by amicable negociation,
a reparation for the injuries that have been commit-
ted on the commerce of our fellow citizens, by
whatever nation.... and, if success cannot be obtain-
ed, to lay the facts before the Legislature, that they
may consider what further measures, the honour
and interest of the government and its constituents
demand ; if a resolution to do justice, as far as
may depend upon me, at all times, and to all na-
tions, and maintain peace, friendship and benevo-
lence with all the world ; if an unshaken confi-
dence in the honour, spirit and resources of the
American people, on which I have so often ha-
zarded my all, and never been deceived ; if eleva-
ted ideas of the high destinies of this country, and
of my own duties towards it, founded on a know-
ledge of the m.oral principles and intellectual im-
provements of the people, deeply engraven on my
mind in early life, and not obscured but exalted by
experience and age....and as, with humble reverence^
I feel it to be my duty to add, if avenerationfor.the re-
ligion of a people, v^ho profess and call themselves
christians, and a fixed resolution to consider a de-
cent respect for Christianity, amqng the best recom-
mendations for the public service, can enable me,
in any degree, to comply with your wishes, it shall
be my strenuous endeavour, that this sagacious in-
junction of the two houses, shall not be withour
effect.

^4 THE ADMINISTRATION

" With this great example before me, with the
sense and spirit, the faith and honour, the duty and
interest of the same American people, pledged to
support the constitution of the United States, I en-
tertain no doubt of its continuance in all its ener-
gy, and my mind is prepared, without hesitation,
to lay myself under the most solemn obligations to
support it, to the utmost of my power.

"And may that being, who is supreme over all,
the patron of order, the fountain of justice and the
protector, in all ages of the world, of virtuous liber-
ty, continue his blessing upon this nation, and
its government, and give it all possible success
and duration, consistent with the ends of his provi-
dence."

After concluding his speech, Mr. Adams de-
scended from his seat, to receive the oath of office
from the chief justice. Having taken the oath,
which was administered with great solemnity, he
resumed his chair, paused a few moments, then
rose and retired.

Mr. Jefferson addressed the Senate, which was
convened in their chamber, by the call of the late
President ; in the following extempore speech :
" Gentlemen of the Senate,

" Entering on the duties of the office to which
I am called, I feel it incumbent on me to apologize
to this honorable house, for the insufficient manner
in which I fear they may be discharged. At an
earlier period of my life, and through some consi-
derable portion of it, I have been a member of

OF JOHN ADAMS. 25

legislative bodies^ and not altogether inattentive to
the fotms of their proceedings...,but much time has
elapsed ; since that other duties have occupied my
mind ; in a great degree it has lost its familiarity
with this subject....! fear that the house will have
but too frequent occasion to perceive the trutl>- of
this acknowledgment. If a diligent attention,
however, will enable me to fulfil the functions now
assigned me, I may promise that dihgence and at-
tention shall be sedulously employed. For one
portion of my duty, I shall engage with more confi-
dence, because it will depend on my will and not
on my capacity.

" The rules which are to govern the proceedings
of this house, so far as they shall depend on me for
their application, shall be applied with the most
rigorous and inflexible impartiality, regarding nei-
ther persons, their views or principles, and seeing
only the abstract proposition, subject to my decision.
If, in forming that opinion, I concur w^ith some and
differ from others, as must of necessity happen, I
shall rely on the liberality and candor of those from
w^hom I differ, to believe that I do it on pure mo-
tives. I might here proceed, and with the greatest
truth, to declare my zealous attachment to the con-
stitution of the United States ; that I consider the
union of these States as the first of blessings ; and, as
the first of duties, the preservation of that constitution
which secures it. But I suppose these declarations
not pertinent to the occasionofentering into an olfice
whose primarv business is merelv to preside over

D

'"26 THE ADMUJISTHATIO-N

the form of this house. And no one more sincere-
ly prays, that no accident may call me to the higher
and more important functions which the constitu-
tion eventually devolves on this office. These have
been justly confided to the eminent character
who has preceded me here, whose talents and
integrity have been known and revered by me
through a long course of years, have been the
foundation of a cordial and uninterrupted friendship
between us ; and I devoutly pray he may be long
preserved for the government, the happiness and
prosperity of our common country."

Theapparent liberal and patriotic sentiments dis-
played in the President's speech, had the immediate
effect of conciliating the friendship of many who had
been his most violent opposers ; the sound of words
was to supply fora few days, the place of virtuous
deeds, and the services of Washington were to be
eclipsed by the laboured periods of a studied ora-
tion. A wri-ter in the Argus, breaks forth in the
follov/ing strain of unthinking panegyric : *' Who
can peruse this address without giving it his most
unreserved approbation ? It is so long since the ci-
tizens of America heard an acknowledgment, on
the part of their Executive, that all power was de*
rived from the people, that they had almost forgot
their government w^as a representative one. ...not
less pleasing must it be, to hear him place in a light
bordering on ridicule, the diamonds,* robes, and
other ornaments and decorations of royalty ; a strik-
ing contrast this, to the example of his predecessor

OF JOHN ADAMS. 27^

in office. ...may he persevere in it, uninfluenced by
the menaces or machinations of artful and design-
ing men." One might have supposed this to be the
language of ridicule and not sincerity, had not the
author been a clergyman, who has since figured as
one of the warmest espousers of the Hamiltonian
faction.

As the mos"- distinguishing features in Mr. Adams's
administration, have been his predilection for the
English Government, and his avowed hatred to the
French, it may not be improper to give a fair state-
ment of the conduct of both these nations, to this
country, previous to the election of 1797.. This will
assist to develope the secret bonds w^hich were so
firmly to unite the President of a free country with
a British King. The most striking mark of regard
which the Enghshpaid to Americans, w^as the re-
spect shewn to our commerce^ by insulting indis-
criminately, during the year 1796, almost every ves~
sel which displayed the flag of the United States.
To enumerate all the deeds of this nature w^ould
occupy several volumes. ...a few of the most glaring
instances will be sufl^icient for the purpose.

The schooner John, of Salem, Captain Philip
Saunders, had been on a voyage to Jamaica ; while
he lay there, an English oflicer, and Ave m^en, from a
sloop of war, came onboard to impress his crew.
Only one of them happened to be on board besides
the mate and a boy. The rest were on shore on bu-
siness. The gang took the sailor. On being told
that he w^as an American, they replied that they

28 THE ADMINISTRATION

knew this, but wanted men, and would have them
whatever might be the consequences. Captain
Saunders went on board the sloop of war to reclaim
his seaman. The commander, in an insolent man-
ner, ordered him back to hrs own vessel, desired an
account of the wages due to the hand, and to send
them and his clothes to the sloop. ...in case of non-
compliance he was threatened with a flogging.
The rest of the crev>^ were secreted on shore, by the
Captain, for ten days, till the sloop of war sailed,
as her declared design was to impress the whok.
During this period the schooner lay exposed to the
w*eather as well as the insults of the sloop of war,
without any person to take care of her except the
captain, his mate and the boy. /..the sloop*« crew
consisted of eighty seven-men ; of these thirty-five
w^ere said to be Americans, who had been impress-
ed in the West-Indies. This story is related in the
Salem newspapers of the 8th of March, as also by
Mr. Callender, who concludes his account of it by
observing, that such, at the distance of twenty
months, w^as the success of Jay's appeal to the mag-
nanimity of George Guelph, and of his kissing the
band of '^ the meat, drink, snuff, and diamond-lov-
ing Dame."

In the spring of 1796, Captain Samuel Green
made a voyage from Norfolk, in Virginia, to Marti-
nico. He commanded a fast sailing schooner, of
three hundred barrels burthen ; and carried a cargo
for the British at that island. On his arrival, the
consignee shewed him a bill of sale of the vessel.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 29

and told him he was no longer master, because the
schooner was bought for the British government^
and to be fitted out as a privateer. If Captain
Green chose to remain on board, he was told he
might have employment ; this offer he refused. Se-
veral of the sailors were impressed by the British....
others were enticed to enter as volunteers in the
different ships.

Jacob Peterson, master of the sloop Polly, of
Philadelphia, on the 29th of January, 1796, ar-
rived at Cape Nichola Mole, where he had scarce-
ly cast anchor when the Syren, a British sixty-four,
pressed one of his best seamen. On the 51st he
sailed for Jeremie. While he remained in that
port, about nine o'clock in the evening of the
9th of February, Captain Reynolds, of the Har-
riot, a British armed ship in government service,
manned his boat and pressed several American sea-
men from different ships in the harbour. He be •
gan with the ship Carolina of Baltimore, Captain
Luther.

Next day Reynolds went on shore, swore that
he would that night make a sweep among the Ame-
ricans. The latter, hej^.ring of his threat, assembled
themselves into two vessels that lay in the harbour,
one of them the brig Richard and James, of Phi-
ladelphia, and the other the schooner Eliza, of Bal-
timore. About nine o'clock in the evening, a
boat full of armed men was observed coming from
the Harriot towards the Eliza. She was hailed and
enjoined to keep her distance. Reynolds caused

30 THE ADMINISTRATION

his men to fire. This was returned, and after some
t}me the boat went off.,.. she came back with a
fresh supply of men, and again found it prudent to
retire. The people in the Eliza then went on
board of the Richard and James. Reynolds went
on shore, procured a reinforcement, and came back
to a third assault. Finding the Eliza deserted, he
gave up the attempt. In this contest, the British
said that they had seventeen killed or wounded.
The Americans had one killed and one wounded.

On the 28th of March, 1796, the ship Bac-
chus, Captain George, arrived at Philadelphia.
On the 20th he was boarded by the Thetis, a Bri-
tish frigate. She pressed his mate and cabin-boy
on a suspicion of their being British subjects. The
mate attempted to effect an escape, but was re-
taken and nearly flogged to death.

The schooner Voluptas, Jonathan Hall, mas-
ter, of Baltimore, was sent into Kingston by the
Severn, of forty-four guns. She had on board a
valuable cargo of coffee and cotton, and part of an
outward bound freight of provisions, with a large
sum of money. The Supercargo, Mr. Duncan^
was going from Gonaives to the Platform, to pur-
chase Coffee to load the schooner for Baltimore.
The pretence for seizing the Voluptas was, that
she carried provisions for an enemy's port. At this
time the Captain of the Severn had detained Mr.
Duncan a prisoner for 52 days, and threatened to
try him as a British subject for high treason, al-
though he showed a certificate of his being an Ame-
rican citizen.

OF JOHN ADAMS, 31

Captain Hal] and Mr. Duncan were sent ia
irons from Cape Nichola Mole to Port-Royal, on
board of the Lark man of war. On their passage
they were put upon two-thirds of the British sea-
men's allowance of salt beef and bread. The cap-
tain, one night while asleep, had his watch and
money stolen out of his pocket. It was their
opinion that the Severn had designed to send the
schooner to the bottom, for she run so near as to
carry away her bowsprit.

The ship Lydia, Robert Blount, master, from
Portsmouth, in New-Hampshire, had arrived at
Kingston. About four leagues to the windward
of Port Royal he was boarded by the Regulus.
She took away his mate and four men. They were
all natives of Portsmouth, married, and had regu-
lar protections. Before taking them on board, the
British captain sent his surgeon into the Lydia to
examine the men, and see if they were in good
health. The Regulus had pressed above fifty
American seamen, went afterwards to Port-au-
Prince, and from thence to England.

The ship Hannah, Captain Hoare, from Phi-
ladelphia to France, was, on the twenty-fourth of
February, taken by the Lynx sloop of war.... she
stript the Hannah of her whole crew, excepting
the mate, the cook and the cabin-boy, and sent
her into Bermuda. Most of the hands impressed
had protections. The Captain of the Lynx had
spoke on the day before with the Roebuck, of Phi-
ladelphia, and said that he was only prevented
from taking her by a violent gale of wind.

32 THE ADMl2>riSTRATI0N

On the 29th of March, the ship Friendship,
Captain Atkins, arrived at Norfolk.... when within
the Capes of Chesapeake he was boarded by a boat
from the Thetis, Captain Cochran, who pressed
a man who had been naturahzed for ten years be-
fore. As the Chesapeake is within the territory of
the United States, he might as well have kidnapped
him in the streets of Philadelphia. or New- York.

The Ocean, Captain Vredenburgh, was taken
on the 3 3 st of March, only one league from the
High-lands, and sent into Halifax by La Prevoy-
ance, a British frigate. The whole crew, except-
ing the master and mate, were impressed into the
British service.... two of them were native Ameri-
cans, and the restSvvedes and Danes. When Cap-
tain Vredenburgh remonstrated, the Brihsh Captain
told him to look to Jay's Treaty.

Captain Paulding, of the brig Polly, of New-
York, from Curracoa, on the 3d of March, was
sent into Grenada by the Favourite sloop of war....
his hands were impressed, his sailing orders, letters,
invoices, and bills of lading, destroyed. The Cap-
tain, mate and two passengers were stripped, of
their baggage and wearing apparel, thrown into
prison, where they were detained for three weeks,
before a passport for their departure w^as granted.

The Maryland Journal of the 13th of April,
1797, has an extract of a letter from an American
seaman, dated Spithead, December 26th, 1795, on
board the ship Assistance, in which he had been de-
tained from the 20th of October, preceding. ...the

OF JOHN ADAMS. oo

man belonged to the Hannah of Baltunore, Cap-
tain Wescott. This vessel, v/ith four other Ame-
ricans, were carried into St. Johns, Newfoundland
....the sailors were either turned ashore to starve, or
pressed into the British service.

The Norfolk paper of the 4th of April has the
following paragraph : ^' The ship Diana, of New*
York, David Chadeayne master, on his passage
from the East-Indies to Nev -York, was boarded
by his Britannic Majesty's brig Pelican, Captain
J. C. Searle, who sent an officer and crew oa
board, and took out the mate, six people, and car-
ried her into Port-Royal, where, on the 6th of
jMarch, while in their possession, she caught lire
and was burnt to the water's tdgQ^ v/ith all her
cargo of immense value."

The Boston Newspaper of the 7th of April,
1796, has the following letter:

" Captain Elkanah Mayo, who arrived in tov/a
this v\^eek from New- York, has favoured us witii
the following account of the cruel treatment he
and his men received from, the officers and men of
the British frigate La Pique, at Barbadoes, in De-
cember last, viz. Captain Mayo, in the ship Polly,
of Cape-Ann, homeward bound from a whaling
voyage, was drove in by stress of v/eathcr to Bar-
badoes, where he lay near three weeks for the ar-
rival of some Americans to freight his oil homiC,
during which time the British frigate La Pique
arrived there from a cruize, and, in two days after,
pressed two of his hands. Captain Mavo applied

E

:34 TH£ ADMrKlSTKATIOlJ

to the Governor for protection, who caused the
jnen to be released. Three days after, Captain
Mavo's boat beins: ashore with three men, wait-
ing for him, the frigate's barge hauled in close to
liis boat, and boarded him with cutlasses, to press
the men by force. The men called on Captain
Mayo from the shore, who run to the boat for
their relief, where he found the crew of the British
frigate, with the tiller of their barge, beating his
men over their heads with said tiller, till the
blood gushed from their mouths and noses, and
othervvise mano-lin^: them in a barbarous and shock-
ing manner. Captain Mayo sprung into the boat
and cleared it of the British crew. The com.mand-
ing officer, who was then oh the wharf, said he
would have every m.an on board the ship. Mr.
Woodruff, with whom Captain Mayo did business,
being on the wharf, offered his bonds to the Cap-
tain of the frigate that he w^ould bring his protec-
tions on shore. Captain Mayo then went on
board his ship to bring his protections.. ..while he
was on board, the commanding officer of the fri-
gate, and all the rest of the officers, got into their
barge, waiting for Captain Mayo, who was re-
turning with all his protections... .they boarded
him....tlie commianding officer jumped into Captain
Mayo's boat with his drawn cutlass, and dragged
by force all his men into their barge, and then ore-
sented his cutlass to Captain Mayo's breast, and
ordered him into the barge, which he refused ; after
which he pricked him several times in the breast.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 35

and then towed him on board the fi"igatc....he put
Captain Mayo's men into the hole, among his men
who were sick with the yellow fever....he then or-
dered a pairof irons to be fixed on GaptaiaMavo,
which were not, however, fixed. ...he kept him on
the quarter-deck until evening, then ordered Cap-
tain Mayors boat to be hauled up, and ordered him
on board alone. Captain ^layo requested b.im to
let him have a man to go with him,, which the Cap-
tain of the frigate refused ; then said he would cast
him off and let him po adrift.. ..he told him he mioht
perish at sea, to which he replied he hoped he
would. Captain Mayo told him he would not go
unless he cast him off.. ..he then took his barge and
tov/ed Captain Mayo on board his own ship. The
next morning Captain Mayo went to the Governor
and complained of the officers* conduct. ...the Gov-
ernor ordered his men to be immediately released,
who were accordingly sent on shore. Four days
after, three of his men were taken with ihe yellov/
fever, which they took while on board the frigate,.
and which spread through Captain Mayo's ship's
company. ...four of his men died of the fever; the
rest were obliged to leave the ship, and he hired
negroes to pump her. Captain Mayo then char-
tered vessels as he could find them, to take his men
and cargo to the United States. This base con-
duct of our new treaty-allies occasioned the loss of
eight thousand dollars to his owners."

/, the subscribe?^, do testify to the above account,
(Signed) ELKANAH MAYO,

S6 THE A]>MINISTRATION

The Musquito, Captain Harshar, arrived orr
the 17tb of January at Baltimore, from Bourdeaux,
On the voyage he was met by the Hussar, a British
frigate.... his keys were taken, his chests broke open,
and every thing stolen that the British could lay
their hands on. They also drank a case of wine,
pressed the Musquito'smate, and one of the hands,
who was an American.

A letter from Fredericksburgh, dated April 1,
1796, has the following intelligence : The schoo-
ner William, Captain John Scott, from Bassaterre,
St. Kitts, having arrived in the river, on the 23d of
February, between nine and ten o'clock in the
evening in Bassaterre-road, he was boarded by a
boat wath five men with cutlasses... .they belonged
to a British armed sloop lying there. They order-
ed William M'Coy, a native of Fredericksburgh,
into the boat ; but being prevented from taking
him, they went back to the sloop; immediately
after, they returned with their commander, one
Williams, and an additional number of men, armed
with pistols and cutlasses.... they took away from
the schooner, John Mansfield, William M'Coy,
and two blacks. Next morning Captain Scott w^ent
on shore, and proved these people to be citizens
of the United States.. ..lie could recover only the
two blacks. Every American at the port shared
a similar fate.... a Baltimore schooner w^as stript of
all her hands excepting the mate and a boy.

A letter from Captain Thorndike Deland, dated
Kingston, 1st of April, 1796, to a merchant iu

OF JOHN ADAMS". 37

Philadelphia, contained for publication a list of
twelve American vessels taken and carried into
that port. Captain Deland farther says, that he
had heard of twenty-seven other ships at Tortola
which were in jeopardy. ...that all Americans when
carried into Kingston were, after examination,
turned ashore without provision for their support.
Any one having a concern in a house, or having
even a factor in St. Domingo, or any French port,
w^as deemed a Frenchman, and his property was
on that account condemned. On the 21st of April,
1796, the schooner William and Mary, Captain
Shaw, arrived at Portsmouth, New-Hampshire, in
thirty-eight days from Kingston. ...when he left that
place, the impressment of American seamen had
not subsided. On the 5th of May the schooner
Mermaid, Captain Tabet, arrived from the Mole
at New- York.... his mate^ a native American, was
pressed by the Regulus. Several other Americans
were, at the same time, pressed from different ves-
sels.

A Charleston newspaper of the 8th of April,
1796, contains the c?opy of a sentence past by
Judge Green, of Bermuda. ...it is dated the 6th of
January preceding, and respected the brig Fame.
In summer 1795, the Fame sailed from Charles-
ton for Bourdeaux....on her return she was captured
and taken into Bermuda.. ..the vessel and cargo
were both American property, but one of the own-
ers, who went along with her, had staid behind
iu France to dispose of the remaining part of the

38 THE ADMINISTRATION

cargo.... this accident transformed him, in the eyes
of Green, into a French citizen, and on that pre-
tence both ship and loading were confiscated. Thus
the British went on in the West-Indies, while Mr.
Bayard was transmitting to Philadelphia his im-
portant assurances about indemnification, and the
resentment of the London Court of Admiralty at
the decrees of Green.

About the 23d of April, Captain Mercer of the
sloop Ambuscade, arrived at Philadelphia from
Bermuda. He brought a list of eight American
vessels, with their cargoes, which were condemned
at that place, and of seven others which were li-
belled....one of the latter was a brig from Boston.
Captain Mercer had heard that her captain had
died of abuse which he received from the prize-
master. A paragraph of the same date says, that
at Nevis, the schooner Andrew, Captain Mon-
tayne, of Philadelphia, had her mate and seamen
pressed by a British schooner.. ..they were all Ame-
ricans, and had protections. The particulars are
related in the Captain's protest as transmitted to
his owner.

Joshua Whiting was a seaman on board of the
American brig Samuel.... at Port-au-Prince he and
four others of the crew were pressed by a British
frigate.... three of them after eleven days, escaped
by swimming, in the course of which one man
had the calf of his leg bitten off by a shark. ...ano-
ther of them was retaken and almost flogged to
death. Whiting and the cripple escaped, after

OF JOHN ADAMS. i$P

losing their whole adventure, besides being cruelly
treated.

The brig Columbia, and the schooner Unity,
both of Newburyport, sailed from Port Lewis on
the 7th of March, 1796. ...next day they were
brought to by the Ganges, a British seventy-four,
and a schooner attendant on the ship, and sent into
Montserrat, examined, and on the 14th dismissed,
upon paying forty-four pounds, four shillings and
ten pence, as the expence of their examination.

The sloop Dove, of New-Haven, in Connecti-
cut, had gone on a voyage to the Y/est-Indies.
While lying at iVntigua she was boarded by a boat's
crew from the Narcissus, who took away Benja-
min Eastman. ...he was a native American, and as
such had a protection. On the 3d of April, 1796,
the master and mate of the Dove made oath to this
fact at New-Haven.

In April, 1796, the American ship Eliza, sailed
from New- York, for St. Thomas, and had orders
to touch at St. Bartholomew ; she was taken by
captain Cochran of the Thetis frigate.... the super-
cargo, a Danish subject, was stript to the skin...,
the ship was libelled before the Vice-Admiralty
Court at Bermuda, under pretence of being French
property. The trunks of the supercargo were seal-
ed up, and he was thrown pennyless out of the
ship, without clothes or a second shirt to his back.
The captain and crew were put on shore destitute
of subsistence. Six or seven days after the ship
and cargo had been libelled, the cattle were sold

40 THE ADMINISTRATION

at half their prime cost, bought in by the agents
who sold them, and sold a second time next day.
at a considerable profit.

A Boston newspaper of the 26th of May, con-^
tains a deposition dated at St. George, the 27th
of April preceding. It was emitted by the second
mate of the Brigantine Polly, John Bosson, late
master. ...the ve:5sel was on her way from Demarara,
to Boston, when the Cleopatra, a British privateer,
took her. So n after, the prize-master quarrelled
with captciin Bosson, and wantonly beat him in a
most shocking manner. Within six days after,
captain Bosson died of his bruises, in the twenty-
fifth year of his age.

Such were the effects of Jay's treaty to Ameri-
can commerce. Not more than a twelvemonth af-
ter this treaty was signed, and not six months af-
ter it had been fully ratified, upwards of three
hundred American ships w^ere captured by British
frigates and British pirates ; and, upon the most
moderate calculation, a thousand American citi-
zens were doomed to fight in the cause of a ty-
rant against the rights of their nation. Much
noise has been made about the injuries committed
against American commerce by the French repub-
lic, but in this year, when every newspaper was suf-
focated with British robberies, we only find three
or four instances of French depredation. The fol-
lowing is the only one, of which a correct state-
ment is given : the paragraph i;i from a Boston
paper, of the 16th of April, 1796.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 41

By an arrival on Saturday, of a vessel from Cur-
tacoa, we received the following protest of Hugh
Wilson, master of the American brig called the
Jay, belonging to Baltimore, who being duly
sworn before the Notary Royal and Public, of St.
Bartholomew, declareth : " That having got his
vessel captured and condemned, as hereafter will
appear, and having had his log-book and all the
papers belonging to the vessel and to himself tak-
en from him, all to the shipping articles, and a
small memorandum book of his private disburse-
ments, he is obliged to give his declaration from
memory, and to the best of his recollection, viz.
That on the 10th of April last, 1795, he sailed in
said brig from St. Pierre, in the island of Marti-
nico, bound to Antigua ; that on the 12th of said
month, in the morning, he was boarded by the
French armed schooner (as near as he could recol-
lect) the Athenienne, commanded by one Paschal,
from Guadaloupe, under the lee of which island
the brig then was, and in the evening was carried
into Bassaterre-road, in said last island ; that the
same deponent, and all his crew, were immediately
put on board a French sloop of war, where they
were detained about eight or ten days, without
knowing what was the intention of the French to
do with the said brig, and w^ithout ever having
been heard or examined ; that the deponent and
supercargo, Mr. John Starck, were sent on shore
and conducted to the interpreter or linguist, who
told them the brig Jay, and her remaining cargo,

F

4-2 THE ADMINISTRATION

consisting in corn and slaves, had already been
condemned, and who furnished Mr. Starck with a
copy of the condemnation; that Mr. Starck was
put at liberty, but the deponent was, the next day,
thrown into Bassaterre gaol, w^here he remained
about ten days, after which, he was drove out of
the said gaol, and put in chains on board a small
French schooner, bound^to Point-a-Petre, the de-
ponent lying all the passage (about sixty hours)
with eight prisoners more, chained to the same bar,
in the hold of said schooner, upon the stone bal-
last, with a very .scanty and indifferent food ; that
having arrived in such a situation at Point-a-Petre,
the deponent was immediately put on board one of
the prison-ships in the harbour, where he was de-
tained for near eight months, that is to say, until
the 1 St inst. (January, 1796) when Captain Wheeler,
of the brig Peggy, of New- York, having obtained
permission to pick out American sailors, that might
be found on board of different prison-ships, came
along side the ship where the deponent was detain-
ed 3 that having made his case known to him, he,
the said Captain Wheeler, took the deponent along
with him, and put him on board the said brig Peg-
gy; that on the 11th inst. or there about, the de-
ponent went in said brig from Point-a-Petre, and
arrived in this harbour of Gustavia, yesterday, the
13th inst. without yet knowing w^hat has become
of his vessel, the brig Jay, her cargo, or any thing
belonging to her, and wdthout ever having been
heard, either in behalf of said property or of him-

OF JOHN ADAMS* 4S

self, during all the time of near nine montlis he
was detained in Guadaloupe, plundered of every
thing belonging to him, and not left a second shirt
to put on ', that during his detention in Point-a-Petre,
Captain Lyle, of Baltimore, as he passed by said
prison-ship, having seen and recollected the depo-
nent, had applied to the commissaire de guerre in
his behalf, but in vain, as said Captain Lyle after-
wards told the deponent.'*

Having related the principal depredations
committed upon the commerce of the United
States, by the respective powers of Great Britain
and France, during the year 1796, I shall now
give a general view of T^Ir. Monroe's embassy, and
of those circumstances which led to the unfortu-
nate misunderstandinsf which existed betv/een A-
merica and France, during the administration of
Mr. Adams.

For some time previous to 1794, the conduct
of the Executive of this country had been extreme-
ly distant and ceremonious towards the Republic of
France, nor did the recal of Mr. Genet, the French
Ambassador, whose personal altercations with the
President had led the French government to make
this act of solemn reparation, effect any change in
its favour. The French justly supposed, that na-
tional honour, if not national gratitude, v/ould
have prevented the American government from
seizing the opportunity when they were struggling
for their political existence, against the power of
despots, to throw herself into the arms of their most

44 THE ADMINISTRATION

potent enemy. It was, therefore, with equal sur-t
prize and indignation, that they heard of the ne-
gociation which Mr. Jay was carrying on between
America and England, the tenor of which was so
evidently in opposition to treaties already existing
between them and us.

An intercepted letter from the President of the
United States, addressed to Mr. Morris, who of-
ficiated as secret agent of the American govern-
ment, in London, had discovered to the Directory
the hostile views of the government of the United
States, and the intrigues they were carrying on
with England. This letter, which was dated at
Philadelphia, the 22d of December, 1794, was
saved from the wreck of the Boston packet, that
had foundered on the coast of France. It was a
detailed answer to various letters of Mr. Morris,
respecting the pending negociation. The Presi-
dent complained highly of the haughty conduct of
the English administration, and of the arbitrary
measures which they had pursued, and which
they were continuing to pursue, with respect to
American navigation. He requested Mr. Morris
o represent to the minister, not only the injustice,
but the impolicy of this conduct, particularly, at
the moment when it was so much the interest of
England, to conciliate the minds of the inhabitants
of the United States to the acceptance of the trea-
ty. He detailed the efforts he had made, and the
difficulties he had undergone, to overcome the
wayward disposition of his countrymen towards

OF JOHN ADAMS. 45

French politics, the abettors of which, were the
chief opponents of the treaty in question, which,
however, he said, had the approbation of the
greater and more respectable part of the community.
His main object, he observed, the only object,
indeed, which ought to be continually kept in
view, was peace, which he was most anxious to
preserve ; and if America was happy enough to
keep herself out of European quarrels, she might,
from the increase of her trade, from securing the
monopoly of being the carrier of the world, vie, in
twenty years, with the most formidable power in
Europe.

Such sentiments from the President of the
United States, naturally awakened in the French,
those feelings of resentment which arise from a
sense of injury, heightened by ingratitude; and
excited also in them a desire of displaying that re-
sentment.

On the 2d of August, 1794, when Mr. James
Monroe, who had been appointed our Alinister
Plenipotentiary to the French Republic, arrived
in Paris, he perceived an apparent coolness and
distrust in the proceedings of the French Conven-
tion, and affairs appeared to him to be in a train
for an entire separation of the two countries.
More than a week elapsed after he presented his
credentials to the commissary of foreign affairs,
without obtaining an answer when he should be
received. The state of things occasioned by the
fall of Robespierre^ which took place before his

4o THE ADMINISTRATION

arrival, he imagined might be the reason of this
delay, but he soon understood that it proceeded
from a very different cause. It was intimated to
him, that the committee of public safety had im-
bibed an opinion, that Mr. Jay was sent to Eng-
land w4th views unfriendly to France, and that
his mission was adopted for the purpose of cover-
ing and supporting Mr. Jay's to England ; that
Mr. Jay's was a measure of substantial import,
contemplating on the part of America, a close
union with England, and that Mr. Monroe's was
an act of policy, intended to amuse and deceive.
It was added, that this impression not only caused
the delay of his reception, but that the committee,
being unwilling to become the dupes of this policy,
was devising how to defeat it.

Upon consideration of these circumstances, Mr^
Monroe addressed a letter to the Convention on
the 14th of August, notifying his arrival, and ask-
ing to what department of the government he
should present himself for recognition. This ex-
pedient procured the desired effect, and he was
received by the convention itself, on the day fol-
lowing. When he delivered his address to the
convention, he laid Hkevv^ise before it, the resolu-
tions of the Senate and House of Representatives,
as communicated by the administration, in respect
to France and the French revolution.

After being recognized, the first object Mr.
Monroe turned his attention to, was the deranged
state of American commerce, and, for that pur-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 47

pose, he applied to the committee of pubUc safe-
ty, for a restoration of the ancient and legitimate
order of things, with reparation for the injuries
America had sustained. His first note to the com-
mittee on this subject was dated the 3d of Septem-
ber, 1794. ...six weeks, however, elapsed withou!:
receiving any satisfactory answer. On the 18th of
October, he sent in a second note in support of the
former, but with little elfect. He at last obtained
an interview with the diplomatic memibers of the
committee; commencing a conversation Vv'ith a de-
sign to lead them to that point, that he m.ight ex-
plain in a suitable manner, the objects of Mr. Jay's
mission to England. The Gazettes of Paris, at
that time, were filled with reports that Mr. Jay
was to pass over to France, to propose a mediation
of peace, on the part of America, at the Instance of
England. ...which reports increased, in a consider-
able desfree, the suspicions of the committee. Mr.
Monroe, therefore, with a view of doing away
those ideas, proposed an offer of our services, to
promote peace by way of mediation, according to
an article in his instructions ; but in a manner to
create belief that we neither wished, nor would
undertake that ofiice, unless by solicitation ^
nor then, except at the instance of our ally ; ad-
ding that he wanted no immediate answ^er to this
communication, having made it only to inform
them of the amicable views of our administration
towards France. So far Mr. Monroe's object
went to discredit the report without noticing it-

48 THE ADMINISTRATION

The members, however, adverted directly to it, ask-
ing Mr. Monroe, v^hether it was true ; to which
he replied, that it could not be true, since Mr.
Jay was sent to England on special business, only
" to demand compensation for the depredations
on our trade, and the surrender of the western
posts," to which his authority was strictly limited.
The members acknowledged in terms sufficiently
polite, the atttention which was shewn on that
occasion, by the administration, to the interests of
France, as well in the off^r of service to the
French Republic by the United States, as in the
confidential communication Mr. Monroe made
upon the subject of our own affairs. Thus the
conference ended.

' About this time, Mr. Monroe was applied to
by M. Gardoqui, minister of Finance in Spain, to
obtain for him, of the French government, per-
mission to enter France, ostensibly to attend cer-
tain baths on account of ill health, but more pro-
bably to open a negociation for peace with the
French Repubhc. At first, Mr. Monroe was ad-
verse to comply with his demand, but it having
been reiterated, and passing by trumpet through
the Spanish and French armies, he could not avoid
presenting it to the view of the French govern*
ment.

After this incident, he was asked by the diplo-
matic members of the committee of public safety,
whether he thought they could obtain by loan, of
the United States, or within the United States, son\e

OF JOHN ADAMS. 49

money to aid the French government in its opera-
tion. Mr. Monroe understood, about four or five
millions of dollars were wanted to be laid out in
the purchase of provisions and other supplies in the
United States. Shortly after, he was informed
by the diplomatic members of the Committee of
Public Safety, that their minister, then about to de-
part for the United States, would be instructed to
propose an arrangement, whereby France should
engage to secure the attainment of all our claims,
upon foreign powers, v/hen she made her own trea-
ties with them, as likewise to protect our commerce
from the Algerines.

By these several communications and explana-
tions on Mr. Monroe's part, which were much aid-
ed by the movements of general Wayne on the
frontiers, shewing, that if America was not in a
state of actual war with Great Britain, so neither
was she in a state of actual peace, the doubts
which the committee had entertained began to
wear away.

On the 18th of .November, 1794, the Committee
of Public Safety, passed an arrete, by which the
commissary of marine was ordered to adjust the
amount due to our citizens on account of the
Bourdeaux embargo, as likewise for supplies ren-
dered to the government of St. Domingo. By it,
too, the embarrassments which impeded our direct
commerce with France, as also those which im-
peded it with other countries, by the arbitrary rule
of contraband, in respect to provisions destined for

G

5o THE ADMINISTRATION

those countries, were done away. Free passage in
American vessels was likewise allowed to the sub-
jects of the powers at war with France, other than
soldiers and sailors in the actual service of such '
powers. In short, all the objects to which Mr.
Monroe's note of the 3d of September extended,
were yielded, except that of allowing our vessels
to protect enemies' goods ; which point was de-^
clared to be withheld until such powers should a-
gree that the merchandize of French citizens, in
neutral vessels, should likewise be free.

Thus the business of reform, respecting our af-
fairs with France, was commencedc.but it did not
end here ; for, not long after, it was proposed by
the above-named committee, united with that of le-
gislation, in a report to the convention, as the
part of a general system, to put in execution like-
wise that article of our treaty which stipulates
that free ships shall make free goods ; which pro-
position was adopted and announced to Mr. Mon-
roe, on the 3d of January, 1795.

Our affairs with France were now in a pros-
perous state. By the repeal of the decrees under
which our trade was harrassed, there was an end
put to complaints from that cause ; and, as orders
were issued for the adjustment of the accounts of
s-uch of our citizens as had claims upon the French
Republic, with a view to their payment, the pros-
pect of retribution for past losses was likewise a
good one. Our commerce, also, flourished beyond
what v/as ever known before ; for, by virtue of our

OF JOHN AD-AMS. 51

treaty with France of 1778, America was becom-
ing the carrier of her own commodities to England
and her allies. Such, too, was the friendly bias of
the people of France towards us, that notwithstand-
ing our vessels gave no protection to French proper-
ty against English cruizers, nor in certain cases to
the productions of the French islands turned into
American property, yet we were become likewise
the principal carriersof France. ..even the privilege
of American citizenship was an object of great va-
lue to the owner, for an American citizen could
neutralize vessels, funds, &;c. and thus profit in
many ways by the condition of his country. In
short, such was our situation with the French Re-
public, and with other powers, so far as depended
on France, that there was but one point upon
which we had cause to feel or express any solici?
tude ; which was, that it might not vary.

But,^ unhappily, this state of things, so corres-
pondent with the ancient relations of America witli
France, so congenial with the public sentiments,
and necessary to the public welfare, was not doom-
ed to be a permanent one ; for even whilst the
* proposition last above-mentioned, was depending
before the convention, accounts were received
from England, that Mr. Jay had concluded a trea-
ty with that power of a very different import from
bis instructions, or what the French government
had a right to expect.

As soon as this report reached Paris, it produ-
ced in the committee a very disagreeable sensation

52 , THE ADMINISTRATION

in regard to America ; for immediately afterwards,
Mr. Monroe was applied to by that body in a let-
ter, which stated, that they had heard of the con-
tents of that treaty, and asking in what light they
were to consider it. It happened that Mr. Mon-
roe had received on the same day a letter from
Mr. Jay, of the 25th of November, informing him,
that he had concluded, on the 19th of the same
month, a treaty with Great Britain, which contain-
ed a declaration that it should not be construed or
operate contrary to our existing treaties, *^ but as
it was not ratified It would be improper to publish
it." Mr. Monroe, therefore, made Mr. Jay's letter
the basis of his reply to the committee, adding, that
although he was ignorant of the particular stipula-
tions of the treaty, yet he took it for granted the
report was altogether without foundation.

On the 16tli of January, 1795, Mr. Monroe
received another letter from Mr. Jay, informing
him, that he proposed to communicate to him, in
cyphers, the principal heads of the treaty, confi-
dentially. Mr. Monroe being surprised at this
intelligence, and not wishing to possess a copy of
the treaty, if clogged with any condition what-
ever, wrote to Mr. Jay, by a Mr. Purviance, to
that purpose. He received an answer, refusing to
send him a copy of the treaty, urging, as a motive
for his refusal, that America was an independent
nation.

Soon after this extraordinary answer, Mr. Mon-
roe received another letter from Mr. Jay, by Colo-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 53

nel Trumbull, informing him that he had authori-
zed that gentleman to communicate to him the
contents of the treaty, but this proposition Mr.
Monroe very properly rejected.

Colonel Trumbull, however, made a commu-
nication upon the subject of the treaty, to Mr.
Hidsborn, of Boston, with a design that he should
communicate the same to Mr. Monroe.... in con-
sequence of which, Mr. Monroe received it, and
made of it, afterwards, all the use which a paper
so informal would admit of.

About the beginning of February, 1795, Mr.
Monroe received a letter from the Secretary of
State, dated the 2d of December, 1794. In this
letter, the Secretary takes notice of Mr. Monroe*s
address to the Convention, as also of his letter to
the Committee of Public Safety. In the first, he
charges him with having expressed a solicitude for
the welfare of the French Republic, in a style too
warm and affectionate. ...much more so than his
instructions warranted. For the future, he in-
structs him to cultivate the French Republic with
zeal, but v/ithout any unnecessary eclat. In Mr.
Monroe's letter to the Committee, demanding an
indemnity for spoliations, and a repeal of the de-
crees suspending the execution of certain articles
of our treaty of commerce with France, the Secre-
tary censures Mr. Monroe for having yielded an
interest it w^as his duty to secure.

About the beginning of July, 1795, Colonel
Humphreys, then Resident Minister of the United

54 THE ADMINISTRATION

States, at Lisbon, arrived at Paris, with a view to
obtain of the French Government, its aid in sup-
port of our negociations with the Barbary powers.
He brought no letter from the administration to
the French Government, to authorize his treating
with it in person, and, of course, it became the
duty of Mr. Monroe, to apply in his behalf for the
aid that was desired. Accordingly, he addressed
a letter to the Committee of Public Safety, on the
5th of July, 1795, opening the subject to its view
generally, and requesting its aid in such mode as
should be agreed between them. Mr. Monroe
had several conferences with the members of the
diplomatic section of the Committee of Public Safe-
ty, upon the subject, as also with the Commissary
of Foreign Affairs, by whom he was assured, that
the aid desired should be given in the most effica-
cious manner that it could be. Arrangements were,
therefore, taken for pursuing those negociations,
under the care of Joel Barlow, and with the full
aid of France, when, unfortunately, as Mr. Bar-
low was upon the point of embarking with our
presents, intelligence was received, that a Mr,
Donaldson, whom Colonel Humphreys had left at
Alicante, with a conditional power, but in the ex-
pectation that he would not proceed in the business
till he heard further from him, had passed over to
Algiers, and concluded a treaty with that regency,
and, of course, without the aid of France ; which,
therefore, ended our appHcation to the French gov-
ernment for its aid in support of our negociations
with those powers.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 55

Early in June, 1795, accounts were received
in Paris, that the British government had revived
its order for the seizure of provision vessels destined
for France. At that period, Paris, and many
other parts of France, were in the greatest distress
for provisions ; in consequence whereof, the atten-
tion of the government was directed with great
solicitude, to those quarters whence supplies were
expected, particularly to the United States, where
great sums had been expended in the purchase of
them. Unfortunately, however, but few of those
vessels reached their destination, as they were, in
general, taken by the British cruizers. It being
obvious, that the aggression of Great Britain upon
the rights of neutral nations, w^as made with the
intention of increasing the distress that was then
raging at Paris^, it tended to excite a ferment in the
French councils, which was not pointed against
Great Britain alone. The United States were par-
ticularly animadverted upon, owing to a report
from one of its secret agents in England, who
stated, he was advised, through a channel to
be relied upon, that the English government had
intimated the measure would not be offensive to
the United States, since it was a case provided for
between Great Britain and them.

About the middle of August, 1795, American
Gazettes were received at Paris, containing copies
of the English treaty, whereby its contents were
made known to the committee of Public Safety.
From this period, therefore, a-U mysterv was at an

56 THE ADMINISTRATION

end. ...the possession of the treaty enabled the
French government to judge for itself upon all the
points which it involved. Nor was the effect
which it produced an equivocal one; for, accord-
ing to Mr. Monroe's report, there was not a de-
scription of persons, not in the interest of the coa-
lesced powers, who did not openly and severely
censure it.

In the beginning of December, 1795, Mr.
Monroe received two letters from Mr. Pickering,
by which he was informed officially, and for the
first time, that the treaty was ratified.

From this period, to the 25th of June, 1796,
Mr. Monroe had frequent conferences with sever-
al of the members of the Directory, from whom
he received the flattering assurance of the friend-
ship of France towards the United States. But this
prospect was sooa changed, by a letter which he
received from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, re-
questing information, whether the intelligence
which the Gazettes announced, of the House of
Representatives having agreed to carry the treaty
into effect, was to be relied on ? and, in case it was.
asking further, in what light they were to view
that event, before he called the attention of the
Directory to those consequences resulting from it,
which specially interested the French Republic ?
Mr. Monroe replied to the Minister, that with
respect to his first interrogatory, whether the House
of Representatives had passed a law to carry the
treaty into effect ? he could s;ive him no authentic

OF JOHN ADAMS. 57

information. ...and with respect to the second, as
he had already answered his several objections to
that treaty, to which he had received no reply, it
was impossible for him to enter again, under such
circumstances, into that subject.

In the beginning of August, 1796, the Direc-
tory recalled Mr. Adet, and appointed another to
take his place, with the grade of charge des af-
faires. Mr. Monroe apprehending, from certain
circumstances, that he would not be well received
by the government of the United States, remon-
strated against his appointment with the French
government, and with success; for it was revoked.
In the beginning of August, Mr. Monroe saw
in the Gazette, a communication from the Minister
of Foreign Affairs to Mr. Barthelemy, the Am-
bassador of France to the Swiss Cantons, announc-
ing an arrete of the Directory, by which it was
determined to act towards the commerce of neutral
powers, in the same manner as those powers per-
mitted the English government to act towards
them. In consequence whereof, he applied to
the Minister for information relative to that arrete,
from whom he received a general answer, corres-
ponding only in sentiment with the letter above-
mentioned, to the Ambassador of the Republic, at
Basle.

About the end of August, Mr. Monroe heard
that Mr. Adet was recalled, and no successor ap-
pointed in his room. He was informed, at the same
time, that any further application from him to the

H

THE ADMINISTRATION

French government would be improper ; since it
Vv'ould not only prove fruitless, but, most probably,
produce an ill efTect.

Near seven months had elapsed since the Mi-
nister of Foreign Affairs communicated to Mr,
Monroe the discontent of the Directory, on ac-
count of Jay*s treaty, and its decision to make the
bame known to our government by an Envoy Ex-
traordinary, to be dispatched to the United States ;
in the course of which time, he had not received a
bingle line from the Department of State, although
he had regularly informed it of every incident that
occurred, and notwithstanding the crisis was a very
important one, requiring the profound attention of
the Administration. In the course of this time,
Mr. Monroe was left alone by the Administra-
tion, to oppose the discontent of France, not
only unaided, but likewise under circumstances
the most unfavourable. At this period, also, he
received a letter from the Secretary of State, of
the irth of June, communicating to him the
high dissatisfaction of the President, on account
of his conduct respecting the British treaty. On
the 12th of October, he received a letter from
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, announcing the
recal of Mr. Adet, and in the beginning of
November, he received a letter from the Secreta-
ry of State, announcing his own recal by the Presi-
dent of the United States.

The Directory, when Mr. Monroe took leave,
observed, as they had done on a former occasion

OF JOHN ADAMS. 5^

with respect to Sweden, that the People of Ame-
rica not being implicated in the acts of their gov-
ernment, were still objects of their esteem ; and
expressed also their personal regard for the inte-
rest which Mr. ^lonroe, during his residence at
Paris, had shewn for the welfare of the Republic.
The news of the intended resignation of the
President of the United States, had preceded the
arrival of the new Ambassador, Mr. Pinckney,
This event, which was expected by the French gov-
ernment, had, in some measure, allayed its warmth ;
and it was hoped that an amicable arrangement
would speedily have taken place, as it was sup-
posed that the choice of the United States would
fall on a person less hostile to their interests ; but
as the exchange of Ambassadors under the present
circumstances, afforded so favourable an opportu-
nity of expressing their feelings, they not only re-
fused to permit the new Ambassador to remain of-
ficially at Paris, but intimated to him, tliat his resi-
dence as a private citizen was inexpedient.

CHAPTER IIL

Speech of the President.,, .Anszverfroyn the House of
Representatives. . . .Proceedings of Congress.

j\0 event had occurred since the confedera-
tion of the States, which excited such general con-
sternation and anxiety among all classes of people,
as the proclamation for the meeting of Congress,

60 THE ADMINISTRATION

on the fifteenth of May. The recal of Mr. Adel,
and the dismission of Mr. Pinckney, by the Direc-
tory of France, sufficiently evinced the opinion
Avhich that Republic entertained of our Adminis-
tration. From the well known principles of Mr.
Adams, it was not to be expected that proper per-
sons would be appointed to effect a reconciliation
between the two countries. Yet, great hopes were
entertained by the republican party, that whatever
might be the views of the Executive, the virtue and
patriotism of the House of Representatives were
such, as never to allow them to abandon our
natural ally, and embrace again the arms of Bri-
tain, against the cause of universal freedom.

The first business which the House of Repre-
sentatives entered upon after having met, was the
choice of a Speaker. Mr. Dayton, Mr. Dent and
Mr. Baldwin, were the three candidates ; but Mr.
Dayton was elected, there being seventy-six votes
in his favor. Mr. Dent and Mr. Baldwin had only
one each.

Upon Tuesday, the 1 6th of May, the President
addressed to both Houses of Congress assembled,
the following speech :

" Gentlemen of the House of Representatives,

^' The personal inconveniences to the members
of the Senate and House of Representatives, in
leaving their families and private affairs at this sea-
son of the year, are so obvious, that I the more re-
gret the extraordinary occasion which has render-
ed the convention of Congress indispensable.

OF JOHN ADAMS. '61

'^ It would have afforded me the highest satis-
•factiion, to have been able to congratulate you on a
restoration of peace to the nations of Europe, whose
animosities have endangered our tranquility. ...but
we have still abundant cause of gratitude to the
supreme dispenser of national blessings, for gene-
ral health and promising seasons ; for domestic
and social happiness ; for the rapid progress and am-
ple acquisitions of industry, through extensive ter-
ritories ; for civil, political and religious liberty.
While other States are desolated with foreign war
or convulsed with intestine division-s, the United
States present the pleasing prospect of a nation,
governed by mild and equal laws, generally satis-
fied with the possession of their rights ; neither en-
vying the advantages nor fearing the power of other
nations ; solicitous only for the maintenance of or-
der and justice, and the preservation of liberty ;
increasing daily in their attachment to a system of
government, in proportion to their experience of
its utility ; yielding a ready and general obedience
to laws, flowing from the reason and resting on the
only solid foundation, the affections of the people.

" It is with extreme regret I shall be obliged to
turn your thoughts to other circumstances, which
admonish us, that some of these felicities may not
be lasting; but if the tide of our prosperity is full,
and a reflux commencing, a vigilant circumspection
becomes us, that we may meet our reverses with
fortitude, and extricate ourselves from their conse-
quences, with all the skill we possess, and all the
efforts in our power.

62 THE ADMINISTRATION

" In giving to Congress information of the state
of the union, and recommending to their considera-
tion, such measures as appear to me expedient or
necessary, according to my constitutional duty, the
causes and the objects of the present extraordinary
session will be explained.

" After the President of the United States receiv-
ed information that the French govarnment had
expressed serious discontents at some proceedings
of the government of these States, said to affect
the interests of France, he thought it expedient to
send to that country, a new minister, fully instruct-
ed to enter on such amicable discussions, and to
give such candid explanations, as might happily re-
move the discontent and suspicions of the French
government, and vindicate the conduct of the Uni-
ted States. For this purpose, he selected from
among his fellow citizens, a character, whose inte-
grity, talents, experience and services, had placed
him in the rank of the most esteemed and respected
in the nation. The direct object of his mission was
expressed in his letters of credence to the French
Republic, being, to " maintain that good under-
standing, which, from the commencement of the
alliance, had subsisted between the two nations, and
to efface unfavorable impressions, banish suspicions
and restore that cordiality, which was at once the
evidence and pledge of a friendly union." And his
instructions were to the same effect, " faithfully to
represent the disposition of the Government and
People of the United States, their disposition be-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 65

ing one -, to remove jealousies and obviate com-
plaints, by shewing that they were groundless ^ to
restore that mutual confidence which had been so
unfortunately and injuriously impaired, and to ex-
plain the relative interests of both countries, and
the real sentiments of his own."

"A minister thus specially commissioned, it w^as
expected, would have proved the instrument of
restoring mutual confidence between the two re-
publics....the first step of the French government
corresponded with that expectation. A few days
before his arrival at Paris, the French Minister of
Foreign Relations, informed the American Minister
then resident at Paris, of the formalities to be ob-
served by himself in taking leave, and by his suc-
cessor, preparatory to his reception. These formal-
ities they observed ; and on the ninth of December,
presented officially to the Minister of Foreign Re-
lations, the one a copy of his letters of recal, the
other a copy of his letters of credence. These
were laid before the Executive Directory. Two
days afterwards, the Minister of Foreign Relations,
informed the recalled American Minister, that the
Executive Directory had determined not to receive
another Minister Plenipotentiary from the United
States, until after the redress of grievances demand-
ed of the\ American government, and which the
French Republic had a right to expect from it.
The American Minister immediately endeavoured
to ascertain, whether, by refusing to receive him, it
was intended that he should retire from the territo-

6 i T H E A D M 1 N I S r R A T I C N

lies of the French Republic, and verbal answers
were given, tliat such was the intention of the Direc-
tory. For his own justification, he desired a written
answer j but obtained none until towards the last
of January; when, receiving notice in writing to
quit the territories of the Repubhc, he proceed-
ed to Amsterdam, where he proposed to w^ait
for instruction from this government. During his
residence at Paris, cards of hospitality were refused
him, and he was threatened with being subjected
to the jurisdiction of the minister of Police. ...but
with becoming firmness, he insisted on the protec-
tion of the law of nations, due to him as the known
minister of a foreign power. You will derive fur-
ther information from his dispatches, which will be
laid before you.

" As it is often necessary that nations should treat
for the mutual advantage of their affairs, and espe-
pecially to accommodate and terminate differences ;
as they can treat only by ministers, the right of em-
bassy is well known, and established by the law
and usage of nations ; the refusal on the part of
France to receive and hear our minister, is then
the denial of a right, but the refusal to receive him
until we have acceded to their demands, without
discussion and without investigation, is to treat us
neither as allies, nor as friends, nor as a sovereign
State.

" With this conduct of the French government,
it will be proper to take into view the public audi-
ence given to the late minister of the United States,

OF JOHN ADAMS* 6j

tsn his taking leave of the Executive Directory.
The speech of the President discloses sentiments
more alarming than the refusal of a minister, be-
cause more dangerous to our independence and
union ; and, at the same time, studiously marked
with indignities towards the government of the
United States. ...it evmces a disposition to separate
the people of the United States from the govern-
ment ; to persuade them that they have diiferent
affections, principles and interests from those of
their fellow citizens, whom they themselves have
chosen to manage their common concerns, and thus
to produce divisions fatal to our peace. Such at-
tempts ought to be repelled, with a decision which
shall convince France and the world, that w^e are
not a degraded people, humiliated under a colonial
spirit of fear and sense of inferiority, fitted to be
the miserable instruments of foreign influence, and
regardless of national honor, character and interest.
" I should have been happy to have thrown a
veil over these transactions, if it had been possible to
conceal them, but they have passed on the great
theatre of the world, in the face of all Europe and
America, and with such circumstances of publicity
and solemnity, that they cannot be disguised, and
will not soon be forgotten ; they have infflicted a
wound in the American breast. ...it is my sincere
desire, however, that it may be healed ; it is my
sincere desire, and in this, I presume, I concur with
you and with oifr constituents, to preserve peace
and friendship with all nations ^ and believing that

I

65 THE ADMINISTRATION

neither the honour nor the interest of the United
States absolutely forbid the repetition of advances
for securing those desirable objects v>ith France^
I shall institute a fresh attempt at negociation, and
shall not fail to promote and accelerate an accom-
modation, on terms compatible with the rights,
duties, interests and honour of the nation. If we
liave committed errors, and these csn be demon-
strated, we shall be willing to correct them ; if we
have done injuries, we shall be willing, on convic-
tion, to redress them ; and equal measures of jus-
tice, we have a right to expect from France, and
every other nation. The diplomatic intercourse
between the United States and France being at
present suspended, the government has no means
of obtaining official information from that country;
nevertheless, there is reason to believe, that the
Executive. Directory passed a decree on the second
of March last, contravening in part, the treaty of
amity and commerce of 1778, injurious to our law-
ful commerce and endangering the lives of our ci-
tizens. A copy of this decree will be laid before
you.

" While w^e are endeavoring to adjust all our dif-
ferences with France by amicable negociation, the
progress of the war in Europe, the deprediitions
on our commerce, the personal injuries to our citi-
zens, and the general complection of affairs, render
it my indispensable duty, to recommend to your
consideration, effectual measures of defence.

"The commerce of the United States has become

OF JOHN ADAMS. 6T

an interesting object of attention, whether we con-
sider it in relation to the wealth and finances, or the
strength and resources of the nation. With a sea
coast of near two thousand miles in extent, opening
a wide field for fisheries, navigation and commerce,
a great portion of our citizens naturally apply their
industry and enterprize to these objects ; any se-
rious and permanent injury to commerce, would
not fail to produce the most embarrassing disor-
ders ; to prevent it from being undermined and
destroyed, it is essential that it receive an ader»
quate protection.

"The naval establishment must occur to every
man who considers the injuries committed on our
commerce, the insults offered to our citizens, and
the description of the vessels by which these abuses
have been practised -, as the sufferings of our mer-
cantile and seafaring citizens cannot be ascribed
to the omission of duties demandable, considering
the neutral situation of our country, they are to be
attributed to the hope of impunity arising from a
supposed inability on our part, to afford protection

to resist the consequence of such impressions

on the minds of foreign nations, and to guard
against the degradation and servility which they
must finally stamp on the American character, is an
important duty of government.

"A naval power, next to the militia, is the na-
tural defence of the United States. The experi-
ence of the last war w^ould be sufficient to shew
that a rxioderate naval force, such as \vould be ea-

68 THE ADMINISTRAIION

sily within the present abiUties of the Union, would
have been sufficient to have baffled many formidable
transportations of troops from one state to another,
which were then practised... .our sea coasts, from
their great extent, are more easily annoyed, and
more easily defended by a naval force than any
other ; with all the m.aterials our country abounds ;
in skill, our naval architects and navigators are
equal to any ; and commanders and seamen w^ill
not be wanting.

'^ But, although the establishment of a perma-
nent system of naval defence appears to be requi-
site, I am sensible it cannot be formed so speedi-
ly and extensively as the present crisis demands.
Hitherto, I have thought proper to prevent th«
sailing of armed vessels, except on voyages to the
East-Indies, where general usage, and danger from
pirates, appeared to render the permxission proper;
vet the restriction has ori2:inated solelv from a wish
tG prevent collusions with the powers at war, con-
travening the act of Congress of June, one thous-
and seven hundred and ninety-four, and not from a-
ry doubt entertained by me of the policy and pro-
priety of permitting our vessels to employ means
of defence, while engaged in a lawful foreign
commerce. It remains for Congress to prescribe
such regulations, as will enable our sea-faring citi-
zens to defend themselves a2:ainst violations of the
law of nations, and at the same time restrain them
from committing acts of hostility against the pow-
ers at war. In addition to this voluntary provi-

OF JOHN ADAMS* 69

sion for defence, by individual citizens, it appears
to me necessary, to equip the frigates, and provide
other vessels of inferior force, to take under con-
voy such merchant vessels as still remain un-
armed.

"The greater part of the cruizers, whose de-
predations have been most injurious, have been
built, and some of them partially equipped in the
United States. Although an effectual remedy may
be attended with difficulty, yet I have thought it
my duty to present the subject generally to your
consideration. I^ a mode can be devised by the
wisdom of Congress, to prevent the resources of
the United States from being converted into the
means of annoying our trade, a great evil will be
prevented... .with the same view I think it proper
to mention, that some ofour citizens resident abroad,
have fitted out privateers, and others have volun-
tarily taken the command, or entered on board of
them, and committed spoliations on the commerce
of the United States. Such unnatural and iniqui-
tous practices can be restrained only by severe
punishments.

" But besides a protection of our commerce on
the seas, I think it highly necessary to protect it at
home, where it is collected In our most important
ports. The distance of the United States from Eu-
rope, and the well known promptitude, ardor and
courage of the people in defence of their country,
happily diminish the probability of invasion : ne-
vertheless, to guard against sudden aud predatory

70 THE ADMINISTRATION

incursions, the situalicn cf some of our principal
sea-ports demands your consideration ; and as our
country is vulnerable in other interests besides
those of its commerce, you will seriously deliber-
ate, whether the means of general defence ought
not to be increased, by an addition to the regular
artillery and cavalry, and by arrangements for form-
ing a provisional army.

" With the same view% and as a measure which
even in time of universal peac--^ ought not to be ne.
glected, I recommend to your consideriticn, a re-
vision of the laws for organizing, arming and dis-
ciplining the militia, to render that natural and safe
defence of the country efficacious. Although it is
very true that we ought not to involve ourselves in
the political systemi of Europe, but to keep ourselves
ahvays distinct and separate from it, if we can;
yet to effect this separation, early, punctual, and
continual information of the current chain of events,
and of the pohtical projects in contemplation, is
no less necessary than if we were directly concern-
ed in them. ...it is necessary, in order to the dis-
CO very of the efforts made to draw^ us into the vor-
tex, in season to make preparation against them.
However v/e may consider ourselves, the maritime
and commercial powers of the world w^ill consider
the United States of America, as forming a weight
m that balance of powder in Europe, w^hich never
can be forgotten or neglected. ...it would not only
be against our interest, but it w^ould be doing wrong
to one half of Europe at least, if we should volun-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 71

tariiy throw ourselves into either scale. ...It is a na-
tural policy for a nation that studies to be neutral,
to consult with other nations engaged in the same
studies and pursuits. ...at the same time that meas-
ures might be pursued with this view, our treaties
with Prussia and Sweden, one of which is expired,
and the other near expiring, might be renewed.
" Gentlemen of the House of Representatives y
" It is particularly your province to consider the
state of the public finances, and to adopt such
measures respecting them, as exigencies shall be
found to require ; the preservation of public credit,
the regular extinguishment of the public debt, and
a provision of funds to defray any extraordinary
expence, v/ill, of course, call for your serious at-
tention ; although the imposition of new burthens
cannot be in itself agreeable, yet there is no ground
to doubt; ihat the American people w^iil expect
from you, such measures as their actual engage-
ments, their present security, and future interest
demand.

*^ Gentlemen of the Senate, and

" Gentlemen of the House of Representatives,

^*The present situation of our country, imposes
an obligation on all the departments of government,
to adopt an explicit and decided conduct. In my
situation, an exposition of the principles by which
my administration will be governed, ought not Xo
be omitted.

" It is im.possible to conceal from ourselves or the
world, what Iras been before observed, that endea*

72 THE ADMINISTRATION

vours liave been employed to foster and establish
a division between the government and people of
the United States. To investigate the causes which
have encouraged this attempt, Is not necessary ;
but to repel, by decided and united councils, insi-
nuations so derogatory to the honor, and aggres-
sions so dangerous to the constitution, union and
even independence of the nation, is an indispensa-
ble duty.

" It must not be permitted to be doubted, whe-
ther the people of the United States will support
the government established by their voluntary con-
sent, and appointed by their free choice, or whe-
ther, by surrendering themselves to the direction of
foreign and domestic factions in opposition to their
ov/n government, they will forfeit the honourable
station they have hitherto maintained.

'^ For myself, having never been inf^ifferent to
what concerned the interests of my country ; devo-
ted the best part of my life to obtain and support
its independence, and constantly witnessed the
patriotism, fidelity and perseverence of my fellow^
citizens on the most trying occasions, it is not for
me to hesitate or abandon a cause in which ray
heart has been so long engaged.

" Convinced that the conduct of the govern-
ment has been just and impartial to foreign nations,
that those internal regulations, which have been
established by law for the preservation of peace,
are in their nature proper, and that they have
been fairly executed^ nothing will ever be done by

OF JOHN ADAMS. 73

me to impair the national engagements, to innovate
upcn principles which have been so deliberately
and uprightly established, or surrender in any man-
ner, the rights of the government* To enable me to
maintain this declaration, I rely, under God, with
entire confidence on the firm and enlightened sup-
port of the national legislature, and upon the virtue
and patriotism of my fellow citizens.'*

The business which engaged both Houses of
Congress, for the first fortnight of this session, was
the preparing of an answer to Mr. Adams, for this
gracious speech. Messrs. Venable, Treeman,
Griswold, Kittera and Rutledge, were the commit-
tee appointed by the House of Representatives for
that purpose. The three latter were truly federal ;
and the first report they gave in, was even too com-
plaisant for many of the federal faction to suffer.

Mr. Nicholas, of Virginia, proposed an amend-
ment, which tended to modify the approving pane-
gyric contained in the answer. He said, that this
was the most important crisis America had known
since the Declaration of its Independence ; and it
would depend much upon the answer returned to
the President's speech, whether we were to witness
a similar scene of havoc and distress, to that which
was not yet forgotten. The situation in v^hich we
stood with respect to France, in his opinion, called
for the most judicious proceedings ; it was his wish,
to heal the breach, which was already too great, by
temperate, rather than widen it by irritating meas-
ures.

K

*^4 TIIL ABMimSTRATlOK

He confessed, that he considered the answer JEi*-.
ported to them, as going to decide the question of
peace or war for this countr^....he thought it a
thing of that sort which might have the worst pos-
f.ibJe consequence, and could have no good effect ;
it might tend to irritate;, to prevent any sort of in-
quiry or settlement taking place, but could not
serve towards an adjustment of differences. What,
said Mr. Nicholas, can be expected, if Americans
act upon this temper? Their declaration with re&pect
to France, will probably reach that country before
an envoy can be sent to endeavour to negociate a
settlement of differences. ...v/hy endeavor to frighten
them, when we are the weakest power ? He said, he
did not mean to recomm.end humiliating measures ;
he would pledge himself not to submit to insult with-
out redress, nor was any man more unwilling to
make mean or improper concessions than he ; but
the language of moderation and justice he preferred
to a boasting manner. If injury or error had been
committed on the part of America, he wished it to
be corrected. He considered it to be for the honor,
credit and interest of America, that the committee
should go into a fair and full examination of the
address before them, and he hoped that examina-
tion would take place.

Mr. Freeman, member for New-Hampshire,
after several preliminary observations, declared,
lie should vote for the amendment, as he saw
nothing in it exceptionable. ...it did not con-
tain^ he said, an unqualified approbation of the

OF JOHN ADAMS. •"i r

measures of the executive, nor any undignified ex-
pressions. If the amendment' should not prevail,
still the original report might be so amended, as to
induce him, perhaps, to vote for it. He hoped a
spirit of conciliation would obtain, and that unani-
mity might prevail on the occasion.

Mr. Edvi^ard Livingston,* o^ New- York, in a
speech of five hours, w^hich it would be impossible
to abridge, supported the amendment.

Mr. Gallatin was of opinion the debate had been
extended on so wide a field, that the object which,
in his mind, occupi^ed the first place, was in some
measure, deprived of the full consideration which
timeandcircumstancesdemanded; he thought those
arguments which concerned the conduct of foreign
nations towards each other, might as well have
been omitted altogether, on the present occasion.
The members of the committee might be made sen-
sible of the irritation of such discussions, but he be-
lieved no one would pretend to say, he was fully in-
formed of foreign concernson either side, to decide
upon their policy or impolicy. At the same time,
it should be considered, that the situation of Ame-
rica, and the best policy to be pursued in her situa-
tion, were the only proper objects of our immediate
attention, and those alone upon which the House

* This gentleman is a descendant of a Scotch family, who
emigrated to America the beginning of last century. His great
grandfather was a John Livingston, a Presbyterian Clergyman,
who madd a conspicuous figure during the reformation. Mr^.
Livingston has lately been elected Mayor of New- York.

7& THE ADMINISTRATION

should pretend to be properly informed, or ta de-
cide with effect.

The question before the house, he said, was the
amendment proposed by the gentleman from Vir-
ginia, (Mr. Nicholas) respecting which, we could
not be too speedy in our decisions. The events on
the other side of the Atlantic, were so rapid, as not
to be within our reach or controul ; we even did not
know the events which had already taken place.
He w^ould not rely on the generosity of any nation
in particular circumstances ; and there was no
knowing the extent to which success might lead
men, under a mistaken impression of injury. Ame«
rica ought to lose no time. France had nearly
overwhelmed all Europe by land. ...what she might
do next, we did not know : w^hether she was just
or unjust, we should at least not lose time in nego-
ciation ; and we ought the more readily to do this,,
because there was no man in America, of what
party he might be, who would not resist, if resist-
ance was required ; therefore, (he said) while the
conflict remained doubtful, it became us to deter-
mine on cur affairs; and as the amendment appear-
ed to furnish the only grounds upon which negocia-
tion was at all likely to be attended with the neces-
sary effects of securing power and independence,,
they ought to be preserved.

Several other amendments having been propo-
sed and carried, the following address was at length
agreed to, and presented to the President by the
members of the House of Representatives, on th€ 3d

OF JOHN ADAMS. 77

of June, who all walked in procession for that pur-
pose :

" To the Fj-esident of the United States.
'' Sir,

*^The interesting details of those events which
have rendered the convention of Congress, at this
time indispensable, (communicated in your speech,
to both Houses), has excited in us the strongest
emotions. Whilst we regret the occasion, we can-
not omit to testify our approbation of the measure,
rnd to pledge ourselves, that no consideration of
private inconvenience, shall prevent, on our part, a
faithful discharge of the duties to which we are
called.

" We have constantly hoped, that the nations
of Europe, whilst desolated by foreign wars, or
convulsed by intestine divisions, would have left
the United States to enjoy that peace and tranquili-
ty to which the impartial conduct of our govern-
ment has entitled us ; and it is now with extreme
regret, we find the measures of the French Repub-
lic tending to endanger a situation so desirable and
interesting to our country.

" Upon this occasion, we feel it our duty to ex-
press, in the most explicit manner, the sensations
which the present crisis has excited, and to assure
you of our zealous co-operation in those measures
which may appear necessary for our security or
peace.

" Although it is the earnest wish of our hearts
that peace may be maintained with the French Re-

T8 THE ADMINISTRATION

public, yet we never will surrender those rights
which belong to us as a nation ; and whilst we
view with satisfaction, the wisdorp,. dignity and
moderation which have marked the measures of
the supreme Executive of our country, in its at-
tempts to remove, by candid explanations, the
complaints and jealousies of France, we feel the
full force of that indignity which has been offered
our country in the rejection of its minister. No
attempts to v/ound our rights as a Sovereign State
will escape the notice of our constituents. ...they
will be felt with indignation, and repelled with
that decision which shall convince the world that
we are not a degraded people, that we can never
submit to the demands of a foreign power, without
examination and without discussion.

*' Knowing, as we do, the confidence reposed by
the people of the United States in their govern-
ment, we cannot hesitate in expressing our indig-
nation at any .sentiments tending to derogate from
that confidence. ...such sentimentSj wherever en-
tertained, serve to evince an imperfect knowledge
of the opinions of our constituents.

^' Sensibly as we feel the wound which has
been inflicted by transactions disclosed in your com-
munication, yet we think with you, that neither the
honor nor the interest of the United States forbid
the repetition of advances for preserving peace.

"We therefore receive, with the utmost satis-
faction, your information that a fresh attempt at
negociation will be instituted, and we cherish the

OF JOHN ADAM5. V<)

hope, that a mutual spirit of conciliation, and a
disposition on the part of France, to compensate for
any injuries which may have been committed on
our neutral rights, and on the part of the United
States, to place France on grounds similar to those
of other countries, in their relation and connection
with us, if any inequalities shall be found to exist,
will produce an accommodation compatible with
the engagements, rights, interest and honor of the
United States.

"Fully, however, impressed with the uncer-
tainty of the result, v/e shall prepare to meet with
fortitude, any unfavorable events which may oc-
cur, and to extricate ourselves from their conse-
quences, with all the skill we possess, and with
all the efforts in our power. Believing with you,
that the conduct of the government has been just
and impartial to foreign nations, that the laws for
the preservation of peace have been proper, and that
they have been fairly executed, the representatives
of the people do not hesitate to declare, that they
will give their most cordial support to the execu-
tion of principles so deliberately and uprightly es-
tablished,

" The many interesting subjects which you
have recommended to our consideration, and which
are so strongly enforced by this momentous occa-
sion, will receive every attention which their im-
portance demands ; and, w^e trust, that by the de-
cided and explicit conduct which will govern our
deliberation, every insinuation will be repelled

80 THE ADMINISTRATION

which is derogatory to the honor and independence
of our country.

^* Permit us, in offering this address, to express
our satisfaction at your promotion to the first office
in the government, and our entire confidence that
the pre-eminent talents and patriotism which have
placed you in this distinguished situation, will ena-
ble you to discharge its various duties with satis-
faction to yourself, and advantage to our common
country."

The House having returned, went into a com-
mittee of the whole on the state of the union. The
following propositions were brought forv/ard and
their consideration occupied the attention of the
House the greatest part of the session:

1st. That provision should be made for fortify-
ing the ports and harbours of the United States.
The sum of 75,OOOdollars was voted for this pur-
pose.

2d. That provision be made by law for com-
pleting and manning the frigates United States,
Constitution and Constellation.

3d. That provision be made by law for pro-
curing by purchase, a further naval force, to consist
of three frigates and six sloops of war.

4th. That provision be made by law for em-
powering the President to employ the naval force
of the United States, as convoys, to protect the trade
thereof.

5th. That provision be made for regulating the
arxning of merchant vessels of the United States

Vt JOHii ADAPTS. 61

6th. That the military establishment should
be augmented by one regiment, a corps of artil-
lerists and engineers, and several companies of dra*
goons.

7th. That provision be made for empowering
the President to raise a provisional army, to consist
of a certain number of regiments of infantry, one
regiment of artillery and one regiment of dragoons.

8th. That provision be made for authorising the
President to borrow money, for the defence and
security of the United States.

9th. That a revenue be raised, adequate to the
reimbHrsement of such sums as the President may
borrov/.

10th. That the exportation of arms, ammunition
and military stores, be prevented for a limited time.
On the 12th of June, the President of the United
States sent a message to the House of Represent-
atives, acquainting them, that he had received in-
formation from the commissioners appointed on the
part of the United States, pursuant to the third ar-
ticle of our treaty with Spain, that the running and
marking of the boundary line between the colonies
of East and West Florida, and the territory of the
United States, had been delayed by the officers of
his Catholic Majesty ; and that they had declared
their intention to maintain his jurisdiction, and to
suspend the withdrawing of his troops from the mi-
litary posts they occupied within the territory of
the United States, until the two governments should,
by negociation, settle the meaning of the second ar •

'^^ THE ADMINISTRATION

tide, respecting the withdrawing of the troops, gar-
risons or settlements of either party, in the terri-
tory of the other ; that is, whether, when the Spa-
nish garrisons withdrew, they were to leave the
works standing or to demolish them -, and until, by
an additional article to the treaty, the real property
of the inhabitants should be secured ; and likewise,
until the Spanish officers were sure the Indians
would be pacific.

The President mentioned, that in order to re-
move the first difficulty, he had resolved to leave
the matter to the discretion of the officers of his
Catholic Majesty ; and as to the second, he would
cause an assurance to be published, that the settlers
or occupants of the land in question, should not be
disturbed in their possessions by the troops of the
United States, but on the contrary, that they should
be protected in all their lawful claims. He also
recommended to the consideration of the house, the
expediency of creating a government in the midst
of the Natches, similar to that established for the
territory North West of the river Ohio, but with
certain modifications, relative to titles in claims of
land, whether of individuals or companies, or to
claims of jurisdiction of any individual state.

Towards the close of the session, the attention
of Congress was drawn to one of the most singular
conspiracies that had hitherto been attempted in
the United States, viz. a plan laid by William
Blount, a Senator, from the State of Tennessee, and
Mr. Liston, the English minister, for the British to

OF JOHN ADAMS. 85

invade the Spanish territory from Canada, aided by
men enlisted within the United States, and by the
Indians. This mysterious affair was first brought to
light by the following letter from Blount, to a per-
son of the name of Carey, an Indian interpreter :

" Colonel King's Iron Works, April 21, 1797.
" Dear Carey,.

'^ I wished to have seen you before I returned
to Philadelphia ; but I am obliged to return to the
session of Congress, which commences on the 15th
of May.,

"Among other things I wished to have seen you
about, was the business of Captain Chesholm men-
tioned to the British minister last winter at Phila-
delphia.

"I believe, but am not quite sure, that the plan
then talked of, will be attempted this fall, and if it
is attempted, it will be in a much larger way than
then talked of ^ and if the Indians act their part,
I have no doubt but it will succeed. A man of
consequence has gone to England about the busi-
ness, and if he makes arrangements as he expects^
I shall have a hand in the business, and probably
shall be at the head of the business, on the part
of the British. You are, however, to understand,
that it is not yet quite certain that the plan will
be attempted ; you will do well to keep things
in a proper train of action, in case it should be at-
tempted, and to do so will require all your manage-
ment....! say all your management, because you
muat take care in whatever you say to Rogers, or

84 THE ADMlNISTRATIOif

any body else, not to let the plan be discovered by^
Hawkins, Dinsraore, Byers, or any other person in
the interest of the States of Spain.

" If I attempt this plan^ I shall expect to have
you, and all my Indian country and all my Indian
friends with me ; but you are now in good busi-
ness, I hope, and you are not to risk the loss of it,
by saying any thing that will hurt you, until you
hear from me. Where Captain Chesholm is I
do not know : I left him at Philadelphia in Marclv
and he frequently visited the minister, and spoke
upon the subject ; but I believe he will go into the
Creek nation by way of Carolina or Georgia... .he
gave out that he was going to England, but I did not
believe him. Among other things that you may safe-
ly do, will be to keep my consequence with Watts,
and the Creeks and Cherokees generally, and you
must by no means say any thing in favour of Haw-
kins, but as often as you can, with safety to your-
self, you may teach the Creeks to believe that he
is no better than he should be ; any power or con-
sequence he gets, will be against our plan. Per-
haps Rogers, w^ho has no office to lose, is the best
man to give out talks against Hawkins. Read the
letter to Rogers ; if you think it best to send it ta
him, put a wafer in it, and forward it to him by a
safe hand, or perhaps you had best send to him to
come to you, and speak to him yourself, respecting
the state and prospect of things,

"I have advised you in whatever you da, to
take care of yourself....! have now to tell you to

OF JOHN ADAMS* S5

take care of me too, for a discovery of the plan
would prevent the success, and much injure all par-
ties concerned ; it may be, that the commissioners
may not run the line, as the Indians may expect or
wish, and in that case the Indians may be taught
to blame me for making the treaty.

"To such complaints against me, if such there
are, it may be said by my friends, at proper times
and places, that Doublehead confirmed the treaty
with the President, at Philadelphia, and receives
as much as 50CX) dollars a year, to be paid to the
nation, over and above the first price : Indeed, it
may with truth be said, that though I made the
treaty, I made it by the instructions of the Presi-
dent ; and, in fact, it may with truth be said, that I
was by the President instructed to purchase much
more land than the Indians would agree to sell.

" This sort of talk will be throwing all the blame
off me, upon the President ; and as he is now out
of office, it will be of no consequence how much
the Indians blame him. And among other things
that may be said for me is, that I was not at the
running of the line, and that if I had been, it
would have been run more to their satisfaction.
In short, you understand the subject, and must
take care to give out the proper talks, to keep up
my consequence v/ith the Creeks and Cherokees.
Can*t Rogers contrive to get the Creeks to desire
the President to take Hawkins out of the nation ?
for if he stays in the Creek nation, and gets the
good will of the nation, he can and will do great

86 THE ADMINISTRATIOIT

injury to our plans. When you have read this let-
ter over three times, then burn it. I shall be at
Knoxville in July or August, when I v^ill send for
Watts and give him the whiskey I promised him.
" WILLIAM BLOUNT."

After the above letter came into the hands of
the President, application was made to the British
minister, for information on the subject... .he at
first professed entire ignorance of the affair, but at
length acknowledged that application was made tO'
him by several persons six months before, on this
business ; that he had laid their plan before his gov-
ernment, but that it had declined having any thing
to do with the business. He, however, refused
to give up the names of the persons concerned.
Mr. Blount attended in his place in the Senate, on
the 6th of July, in consequence of an order from
that House, and after a motion to inform the Pre-
sident and House of Representatives of the circum-
stance, he rose and read from a paper his senti-
ments on the subject of his letter. He said, that
understanding an impeachment was to be brought
against him, for the part he was supposed to have
taken in the contrivance of the British, to invade
the Spanish territory through the United States, he
was determined to be silent in the present stage of
the business, not doubting but in the end, his cha-
racter would come out pure, and defeat the malice
of his enemies.

Mr. Ross brought up the report from the com-
mittee which had been appointed to investigate

OF JOHN ADAMS. 87

into this conspiracy ; and, after recapitulating the
points of the letter, stated, that the criminality went
beyond the personal conduct of the member, as Sen-
ator ', that it appeared that Carey was an agent in the
pay of the United States, stationed within the Che^
Tokee nation ; that Hawkins was the superintendant
of Indian affairs in behalf of the United States, ^nd^
the others, severally, in similar situations ; that the
;ittempt to dissuade them from their duty, and the
expression, that the proceedings should be kept
hidden from the United States and Spain, evident-
ly bespoke purposes not consistent with the peace
of America. He concluded, that it was the opin-
ion of the committee, that William Blount should
be expelled from his seat in the Senate, and that
he was guilty of an high misdemeanor.

Mr. Blount requested the privilege of counsel,
which, after a long debate, was granted. ...lie pro-
posed three who were unanimously rejected....
Messrs. Dallas and Ingersoll were at length chosen.
On July the 7th, the Senate w^as engaged in dis-
cussing the resolution for his expulsion. The
counsel on Blount's behalf, contended, that as a
motion for impeachment was pending, or past, in
the House, the Senate, who were to sit as Judges
to decide it, ought not to prejudge the question.

Mr. Sitgreaves, in the name of the House of
Representatives, and of the people of the United
States, said, that he impeached Mr. Blount of
high crimes and misdemeanors, and, in due time,
would exhibit particular articles against him. Fur-

83 tHE ADMINISTRATION

ther, that the House demanded, the Senate should
take an order for the appearance of Mr. Blount, to
answer to the said hnpeachment.

After a considerable debate on this motion, Mr.
Blount entered into recognizance for his appear*
ance, in the sum of 20,000 dollars. ...Pierce Butler
and Thomas Blount, esquires, were accepted as
his sur^ies.

On July the Stli, the motion was proposed in
the Senate for expelling Mr. Blount, Messrs. Dal*
las and Ino^ersoll took their seats at the Bar of the
House, as his counsel. Mr. Dallas commenced his
defence in a very able address, which occupied more
than three hours. ...Mr. Ingersoll followed him in
a speech of nearly two hours. These gentlemen
had recourse to every precedent which could be
producedfrom history,andto every argument which
ability and ingenuity could suggest. They par-
ticularly relied on the ground, that the punishment
of an offender, should, in no case, precede his
trial, and that to expel Mr. Blount from his seat
then, would be to do what could only be done,
provided he was found guilty on the impeachment
preferred, which, however, they denied the House
of Representatives to prefer.

The defence being finished, Mr. Ross rose,
and, in ^ very luminous speech, examined all the
arguments which had been adduced by the counsel,
in order to shew their w^ant of solidity. He justi-
fied the expulsion of Mr. Blount from his seat, on
the evidence which they had of his unworthiness

OF JOHN ADAMS, S9

to fill it, and appealed very forcibly to the feelings
of the House as to the nature of the crime of which
he stood charged, and as to what might have been
:he consequence, had his plans been carried into
effect.

After some of the other members had delivered
their opinions on the subject, Mr. Bloodworth
moved to postpone the decision till Monday. ...the
yeas and nays were taken upon the question, and
it was negatived 19 to 7. The question was then
put on the expulsion, and carried by yeas and nays,
26 to 1 ; the negative vote was Mr. Tazewell's.

After this decision had taken place, Mr.
Blount's bail delivered him up, and he was taken
into the custody of the Messenger of the House.

Mr. Blount was then held for his appearance, in
a recognizance of one thousand dollars in himself.
and 500 each in two sureties. Both Houses after-
wards adjourned until the 2d Monday in November.

The following are the titles of the acts passed
during this session of Congress,

1. An act for prohibiting, for a limited time,
the exportation of arms and ammunition, and for
encouraging the importation thereof.

2. An act to prevent citizens of the United
States from privateering against nations in am.ity
with the United States.

3. An act to provide for the further defence of
the ports and harbours of the United States.

4. An act authorizing a detachment of the mi-
litia of the United States.

M
/

'^O THE ADMINISTRATION

5. An act, in addition to an act, intitled, "an
net concerning the registering and recording ships
and vessels."

6. An act directing the appointment of agents
in relation to the 6th article of the British treaty.

7. An act providing a naval armament.

8. An act to ascertain the time for the next
meeting of Congress.

Titles of Bills postponed till the next Session.

1. To prevent the arming of private ships, ex-
cept in certain cases, and under certain regula-
tions....rejected in the House of Representatives.

2. For raising and organizing an additional
corps of artillerists and engineers. ...rejected in the
House of Representatives.

3. To prevent citizens of the United States
from entering into the military or naval service of
any foreign Prince or State... .postponed in the
House of Representatives.

4. To enable the President of the United States,
under certain restrictions, to raise a provisional ar-
my....rejected in the Senate, vv^here it originjt^.d.

5. To authorize the President of the Uiiited
States to lay, regulate and revoke embargoes. ...re-
jected in the Senate, where it originated.

6. To suspend, in part, the operation ofanact^
intitled, " an act for raising a further sum by ad-
ditional duties on certain articles imported, and for
other purposes", ...rejected in the House of Repre-
sentatives.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 911

7. For arming, organizing and disciplining the
miliitia of the United States. .«. postponed in the
House of Representatives,

Titles of Bills brought in, and not decided upon.

1. A bill laying duties on licences for selhng
foreign wines, and foreign distilled spirituous li-
quors bv retail. ...passed in the House of Represent-
atives.

2. A bill to continue in force^Jor a limited time,
the act and parts of acts therein mentioned.. ..pas-
sed in the House of Representatives.

3. A bill to authorize the President of the Uni-
ted States, during t?ie recess of the Congress, to pro-
vide gallies and other vessels, for certain purposes
therein mentioned..

4. A bill making additional appropriations foi?
the support of government for the year 1797.

5. A bill authorizing a loan of money.

6. A bill laying duties on stamped vellum.,
parchment and paper.

7. A bill providing for: the more effectual coir
lection of certain internal- revenues of the United
States.

8. A bill respecting Consuls and. Vice-Consuls.

9. A bill allovi^ing an additional, mileage to the
members of both Houses.

10. A bill for laying an additional tax on salt
imported.

SZ THE ADMINISTRATION

CHAPTER IV.

Remarks on ihe meeting of Congress, ..Jlistory of
the Algerine Treaty.,., Blount's Conspiraci/ hives-
ii gated. . . . British Piracy.

The convention of Congress at this period,
appeared to impartial men of every party, as one
of the most extraordinary occurrences in the infant
history of the American Republic.

When the treachery of Great Britain hurled up-
on us the fury of the Barbary powers, and, by bribe-
ry and corruption, stimulated the peacefullndians
to hostilities.. ..when English pirates plundered our
vessels, insulted our flag and impressed our sea-
men, a war with Britain was cried down by the
trumpet of federal proclamation. In place of Con-
gress being summoned to listen to the thundering
accents of a v^ ar-speech , a messenger was dispatch-
ed to the Court of Britain, robed with dignity^
and armed with the powder of forming an alliance,
at the remembrance of which posterity will blush,
and the virtues of Washington will sink into con-
tempt.

The administration of France view^ed with jus-
tice the duplicity of our proceedings, but with
their usual magnanimity, they overlooked it for a
considerable time. Finding themselves, however^
despised in the esteem of our men of power, and
deserted by the Executive, they remonstrated in

OF JOHN ADAMS. 93

the mildest and most pacific terms against our usage
and our ingratitude. When no satisfactory ex-
planation was deigned to be given, they suspended
the functions of their minister, and refused to receive
one from us, unless some negociation was entered
upon. In short, they considered the cold indiffer-
ence of our executive, and the acquiescence ci
our merchants to its measures, as just grounds for
this proceeding, and a fit retaliation for the sh.mie-
ful conduct of the United States.

It is not my intention to justify France entirely
in her depredations on our commerce ; but if Ad-
ams and his party could defend the British scheme
of adjudication, upon the grounds that the rum of
France was her main object, the candor of Re-
publicans ought to justify France upon a more hbe-
ral basis. The object of the French Directory ex-
tended no further than to injure the commerce of
a power which aimed at the destruction of liberty,
and which endeavored to monopolize the produce
of the w^orld. But the utmost excesses of France,
never could be compared with the most trivial de-
predations of our English alHes. American pro-
perty was never confiscated, unless detected in an
illicit trade.. ..our seamen were never impressed,
much less flogged to death. ...the dungeons of des-
potism were never exposed to our patriots ; nor
was there ?n instance of an American citizen, as
Jonathan Robbins, being demanded to die by the
hands of a foreign executioner.

9'4 THE ADMINISTRATION-

Mr. Adams, in his speech, spoke about foreign
and domestic factions. ...upon this, a writer in the
Argus observed, " that as there was but one foreign
and one domestic faction in the United States, it was
wondrous strange that Mr. Adams should have
held the monsters up to day." " The British fac-
tion," says this writer, *^was the only foreign fac-
tion, and the tory faction the only domestic faction
America was cursed with." These factions admir-
ed John Adams because John Adams admired the
British Constitution, and cursed the French Re-
public. They bestowed unbounded panegyrics
upon Alexander Hamilton, because this gentleman
acted the part of prime minister to the President.
They thought the administration and the govern-
ment ought to be confounded and identified ; that
the administration was the government, and the
government the administration ; and, that the peo-
ple ought to bow in tame submission to its whim
and caprice.

ISir. Adams says in his speech, that " it will be
proper to take into view the public audience given
to the late minister of the United States, on his
taking leave of the Executive Directory," because,
in his opinion, it was marked with indignities to-
wards the government of the United States, and
evinced a disposition to separate the people of the
United States from the government ; *' that such
attempts ought to be repelled with a decision which
shall convince France and the world, that we are
not a degraded people, humiliated under a colonial

OF JOHN ADAMS. 95

spirit of fear and sense of inferiority, fitted to be
the miserable instruments of foreign influence, and
regardless of national honor, character and inte-
rest."

This sentiment of Mr. Adams was soon re-
echoed, both in Church and Senate, by his courtiers
and sycophants. Nothing was heard of but in-
trigues between the people of the United States and
France. A Senator of Congress declared in conven-
tion, that he should be for making a law to banish
every citizen of America that educated his children
in the study of the French language. ...the author of
the Serious Considerations on the election of Pre-
sident, laboured for several Sundays together, en-
deavouring to persuade his audience that the genius
of Frenchmen was deceit, and that eVery principle
which savoured of French manners, was dangerous
to the peace of society. In short, no stone was
left unturned by the partizans of Mr. Adams, and
the federal preachers of the gospel, to embroil the
people of the United States in a war with the
French Republic. To effect this purpose, it has
been proved, that agents of Britain clandestinely
purchased American vessels, introduced them into
French ports, and then sent them on buccaneering
cruizes under French colours, against the Ameri-
can trade.

What were the motives which dictated this
policy to Mr. Adams and tlie federal party } Whe-
ther love for monarchy or a regard for the inde-
pendence of America, I shall not attempt to d.ecide ;

96 THE ADMIMI^TRAl I0>?

but will observe, that it was not only injudicious
and short-sighted, but the most pernicious system
that could be pursued by the first magistrate of a
republican government.

I shall not leave it to the partizans of Mr. Adams
to argue, that France had no ri-rht to impose laws
upon America ; this every candid enquirer will
admit. Nor have the people of the United States
any right to prescribe laws for France. Each nation
is certainly thus far independent of each other ; bu:
while Adams, Pickering and Jay, felt so strong a
propensity to form treaties with foreign nations, and
while our representatives proclaimed those treaties
to be the supreme law of the land a breach of trea-
ty must be a violation of the laws of that land, with
whom such treaties are made ; but the breach was
not so wide, as to justify the most distant appre-
hensions of a war with France. Those who im-
posed such ideas, were political impostors, who only
aimed at amassing power and wealth upon the
ruins of the people. The observations made by
Mr. Monroe, on this subject, deserve to be im-
pressed on the heart of every American; nor can I
do better than repeat them here. " The contrast,
(says that elegant writer) between the situation
we might have h^^ld through the whole of this war,
and that which we have held, is a striking one.
We might have stood well with France, avoiding
all theloses we have sustained from her, enjoying
the benefit o; the principles of free trade, and even
appeared as an advocate for those principles, and

OF JOHN ADAMS. 97

without going to any extremity ; we might have
preserved our ancient renown, bought at a great
expence of blood and treasure, in a long war, in a
contest for liberty, and even appeared as a de-
fender of liberty, and vi^ithout fighting for her ; we
might too, in my opinion, have commanded a bet-
ter fortune in our negociation with Britain, and
only bj availing ourselves, in a suitable manner,
of the fortunes of France; and, instead of a situ-
ation so advantageous, so honorable, so satisfac-
tory to our country, what is that into which our
government has conducted us? our navigation de-
stroyed, commerce laid waste, and a general bank-
ruptcy threatening those engaged in it ; the friend-
ship of a nation lost, the most powerful on earth,
who had deserved better things from us, and
had offered to place us, our vessels and commodi-
ties, on tiie footing of its native citizens, in all its
dominions ; war hanging over uS, and that not on
the side of liberty and the just affections of our
people, but of monarchy and our late most deadly
foe ; and we are made fast by treaty, and by the spi-
rit of those at the helm, to a nation bankrupt in
its resources, and rapidly verging either to anarchy
or despotism. Nor is this all : Our national honor
is in the dust; we have been kicked, cuffed and
plundered all over the ocean ; our reputation for
faith scouted ; our government and people brand-
ed as cowards, incapable of being provoked to re-
sist, and ready to receive again those chains we
had taught others to burst. Long will it be before

N

9t5 TR£ ADMINISTRATION

Ave shall be able to forget what we are, nor will
centuries suffice to raise us to the high ground from
which we have fallen."

One of the most extraordinary acts which was
committed by Washington, and approved of by
the administration of Adams, was the Algerine
treaty. This treaty was subscribed by the Dey
and by Mr. Donaldson, upon the 5th of Sepiember,
1795. The Dey promised to observe it for an an-
nual consideration of twelve thousand sequins, in
maritime stores from the United States. A sequin
is worth a dollar and about ninety-seven cents ; of
course, twenty-four thousand dollars could pur-
chase maritime stores to the worth of twelve thou-
sand sequins. On May the 6th, 1796, twenty-
four thousand dollars per annum were pledged and
appropriated for payment of the annuity. ...but it
was immediately found out, that, by the estimate
of the prices fixed between Donaldson and the
Dey, the stores would cost three times as much in
Philadelphia as they were reckoned at in Algiers.
For instance, Donaldson promised to furnish pow-
der at half a dollar per pound, at the very time
that article sold in Philadelphia for three half dol-
lars per pound ; thus, by the gross ignorance of our
envoy, the tribute was trebled.

The price of masts furnishes another instance
of a similar nature. Donaldson estimated them at
three hundred dollars each -, but there is good rea-
son to suppose that they could not be conveyed to
Algiers, for a total charge of less. than twelve or

OF JOHN ADAMS. 9Sft

thirteen hundred dollars ; some of them that had.
been cut within a few miles of the lake Otsego, in
the State of New-York, cost one hundred pounds
per stick, for transportation from the place of their
growth to the lake ; from thence they were to be
floated down the Susquehannah, which rises from
that body of water. In May, 1797, a number of
these masts had come down as far as Wright's ferry,
in Pennsylvania. ...several had stuck upon the rocks.
About Christmas, 1797, others were sold at the
same ferry for twenty dollars, and then sawed down
into planks. Judge Cooper was the contractor for
these masts ; he got one or two of them transported
by land to Philadelphia ; there he offered to the per*
son who carried them down, eighty dollars for the
carriage, but to his astonishment, was informed,
that twice that sum would be necessary. The
masts themselves, were a most beautiful specimen
of the vegetation of an American forest ; they were
from ninety to an hundred feet in length, from three
to four feet in diameter, without a single limb in
the whole piece.

Before the Senate and the President had ratified
such a treaty, prudence at least should have sug-
gested to them, the propriety of inquiring into the
price of the different articles they had engaged to
furnish. Their doorkeepers might have informed
them of the price of gun powder, and certainly a
carpenter might be found, whose knowledge in the
price of timber, would have given a guess for the
charge of masts. This, however, is only a specimen

583488

100 THE ADMINISTRATION

of federal negligence, and of that unnecessary ex-
pence, which prevailed in every transaction that
took place during the period of the late administra-
tion.

The consequence v^as, that the twenty-four thou-
sand dollars per annum could not purchase the ma-
ritime stores ; of course. Congress found themselves
reduced to the ridiculous necessity of passing a se-
cond act of appropriation. It was dated March
Sd, 1797, and the second clause is in these words,
" and be it farther enacted, that a further sum, not
exceeding ninety-six thousand two hundred and
forty-six dollars and sixty-three cents, be, and the
same is hereby appropriated, for discharging the
two first years' annuity to the Dey and Regency of
Algiers, pursuant to treaty, in addition to the sum
appropriated for that purpose, by the act of the
6th of May, 1796.**

Thus, an additional tribute of fifty thousand
dollars per annum, was saddled upon this country
by the incapacity of our envoy, and the negligence
of our Senate,

But the most scandalous part of this most
shameful treaty is yet to be told. The first clause
of the law just quoted, authorizes the President
" to apply a sum not exceeding two hundred and
eighty thousand, two hundred and fifty-nine dollars,
and three cents, to the expences which may have
been incurred in any negociations with the Dey
and Regency of Algiers, beyond the sums here-
tofore appropriated.'*

OF JOHN ADAMS* 101

The law contains not a single word of explana-
tion, how this money should be applied ; this was
left to the discretion of Washington ; and this gen-
eral, who appears, in the latter end of his adminis-
tration, to have had no will of his own, by the ad-
vice of Mr. Adams, built a frigate for the tyrant of
Algiers, to harrass our trade whenever the tribute
should not be refrularly remitted.

This frigate, which was called the Crescent, was
finished even before it was deemed rece.oary t3
consult Congress. In the American annual r^-gis-
ter for 1796, Mr. Callender takes noiice that it
was then upon the stocks, and the law wiiich as-
signed the money to pay for it, was not passed for
six weeks after the publication of the book. It is
impossible that there could be a more glaring
breach of the Constitution than this here specified.
By that instrument, of which the President swore
to the observation, he is expressly prohibited from
touching one farthing of the public money, unless
for purposes pointed out beforehand by Congress.
To demonstrate the President's imprudence, it is
only requisite to read the clause last quoted. The
very fractions, in the sum of the appropriations for
the treble tribute, and for the Crescent, evidently
shew, that every cent, of the money had been ex-
pended before Congress had been consulted^ be-
cause the legislature would not have stopt at three
cents, unless it had been to meet some particular
account.

!C2 THE ADMINISTRATION

How much of these two hundred and eighty
thousand dollars went for the frigate, I cannot spe-
cify. The Aurora of March 30, 1797, has a long
article upon this tribute ; the writer says, that the
Crescent cost ninety-nine thousand, seven hundred
and twenty-seven dollars.

Another remarkable circumstance in this treaty-
is, that it does not say from what date the first year
of payment was to commence, nor at what periods
the stores were to be delivered. Besides the seven-
ty-two thousand dollars per annum, and the two
hundred and eighty thousand dollars of penalty,
the Dey has received from the United States, an-
other, and a very considerable disbursement, in con-
sequence of Donaldson's treaty. A large sum of
money was to be paid down to him, and it was the
delay of making this payment, that produced the
building of the Crescent. On the face of the treat j
there appears no mention of such a sum. Mr.
Callender, who treats this business to its very foun-
dation, says, government was utterly ashamed of it,
and did not wish the story to be staring in the
statute book. He gives the following particulars
as far as they can be traced :

" On March 20, 1794, a law was passed, authori-
zing the President to borrow one million of dollars,
at an interest not exceeding five percent, *^to be
applied to such public purposes as are authorized
by law." The bank of the United States is, by the
same act, authorized to lend the money to the Pre-
sident.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 103

*' This act bears, in its very blush, the signals
of hypocrisy. Is is well known that no money can
be borrowed at five per cent, and much less a mil-
lion of dollars. But Congress knew that they were
going to do something which was a little worse than
ordinary, and this blind v/as held out with a view
to divert the attention of their constituents from the
real fact, and to excite admiration, to be sure, at
their wonderful oeconomy.

" The wording of this act is curious in another
respect, in as much as it does not tell what was
going to be done with the cash. ...eight hundred
thousand dollars of it were to be employed in this
infernal neg^ociation with the Dey of Algiers. ...the
other two hundred thousand dollars went for other
expences of intercourse with foreign nations. On
February 15, 1797, Mr. Wolcott gave a statement
to Congress, of what was become of these two
hundred thousand dollars. ...this document fills
eighteen pages. ...it is extremely interesting; but
we must at this time attend the eight hundred
thousand dollars, in their perilous pilgrimage from
Philadelphia to Algiers.

'^ What follows has been partly copied from the
Aurora of March 30th, 1797, and it must be ob-
served, that although government has an host of
writers in constant employment, this narrative was
never contradicted. Indeed, the principal features
of it are incontestibly true ; and, from the most re-
spectable private information, I am satisfied of the
strict accuracy of all the circumstances which are
now to be related :

104 THE ADMINISTRATION

^^ These eight hundred thousand dollars were to
be borrowed from the bank, which had no hard
money to itself. But this company holds a great
mass of national stock, and agreed to lend it to
government at par... .in other words, the bank held
the bill of , government for twenty shillings; but this
bill would not sell in the market for more than
seventeen shillings, or thereabouts. Government
consented, however, to accept of it back again,
as worth twenty shillings, and to give a second
obligation for the million of dollars. This aukward
practice of taking its own bills, and then going to
market to sell them, is not, perhaps, quite intelli-
gible to every reader. Government having now got
hold of its own bills, the object was to raise money
upon them. ...the bills might have been sold in Ame-
rica, but so great a quantity of them coming into
the market at one time, would have reduced the
price of stock, and several members of government
are stockholders. The bills of government were,
therefore, sent to London, and sold there at a lower
price than what they would have. sold for in the
United States.

Dob. Cis.
The sum borrowed from the bank was 800,000
The Aurora says that the government
bills, that is, the national stock receiv-
ed from the bank, sold in London for
only 685,572 22

Loss by the sale 114,427 78

OF JOHN ADAMS. 105

*' Sir Francis Baring, the banker in London, had,
in the mean time, agreed to advance seven hun-
dred and two thousand, seven hundred and fifty-
eight dollars, on account of this affair. In No-
vember, 1794, an attempt wzs made to get the
money from England ; but a proclamaiion had
about that time been issued at London, prohibit-
ing the exportation of bullion.. ..this made it im-
possible to send the remittance in that shape. After
a lapse of eight months, drafts were obtained upon
Leghorn, Hamburgh and Lisbon. ...at this junc-
ture the French took Leghorn, but Buonaparte
did not interrupt the transaction. By the course
of exchange, however, thirty-seven thousand seven
hundred and fifty-eight dollars were lost. ...the sura
was thus reduced from seven hundred and two
thousand and odd dollars, to six hundred and sixty-
five thousand. Ihe Aurora says, that this last
sum, in its remittance to Algiers, was again redu-
ced to six hundred and forty-two thousand five
hundred dollars. We shall now add together these
three successive sums of loss which those eight hun-
dred thousand dollars sustained.

Vols. Cts,

1 . The national paper was sold in

London with a loss of 1 14,427 78

2. By the disadvantage of exchange

in the drafts upon Leghorn, 37,758 81

3. Expence of conveyance to Algiers, 22,500

174,686 S9

■ m O

^06 THE ADMINISTRATION

JDols, Cts.

But there is another item of expence ;
before the American public stock was
sold, Sir F. Baring had promised to
send to the Continent 702,758 51

The paper sold for only 685,572 22

Difference, 17,186 29
It would be necessary for the gov-
ernment of America to make up the
difference to their agents in London....
add this to the former losses, 174,686 59

Total loss by the remittance, 191,872 88
Besides these one hundred and nine-
ty-two thousand dollars of direct loss,
the money wandered for more than
twelve months upon its way.... at six per
cent, upon eight hundred thousand
dollars, this interest comes to forty-
eight thousand, and we cannot offer
less than twelve thousand to the bank-
ers in London for their trouble. , The
former statement of loss was 191,872 88

Interest of the eight hundred thou-
sand dollars for one year, and subjoin-
ing for agency to Baring, 60,000

Total 258,872 88

OF JOHN ADAMS. 107

^^ The conclusion of the whole matter is this ;
Congress transmitted to Algiers, six hundred and
forty-two thousand, five hundred dollars.

" The additional expence of sending this mo-
ney, cost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars,
or thereabouts/'

Mr. Callender proceeds to remark, that if Mr.
Washington had chosen to go into the market, and
buy these eight hundred thousand dollars worth of
stock from the common holders, a considerable sum
would have been saved to the public. For in-
stance, says he, if stock was at eighteen shillings
per pound, this makes an odds of one tenth part ;
at that rate, his nominal eight hundred thousand
pounds worth of it, could have been bought in for
seven hundred and twenty thousand dollars of hard
cash, if he had been master of that much money....
in this way Mr. Pitt bought in some part of the
national debt of England. But as the federal gov-
ernment could not take this method, it was neces-
sary to go to the bank of the United States, and
there to borrov/, not money, but depreciated paper.
The paper was sold in England, at the ruinous dis-
count of one hundred and fourteen thousand, four
hundred and twenty-seven dollars. Thus govern-
ment granted its obligation to the bank for eight
hundred thousand dollars, and could be obliged by
the bank to refund every farthing of the sum, while
it received in return, depreciated paper ; which
it was obliged to sell again for less than se-

108 THE ADMINISTRATION

ven hundred thousand dollars. The result was,
that the bank did, in effect, receive upon the trans-
action, a premium of about one hundred thousand
dollars, more or less. The bank had only to go into
the market, and buy, at about seventeen shillings-
and six pence per pound, as much paper as Mr.
Washington wanted, and for which he gave an ob-
ligation at par, that is, at its full nominal value, of
twenty shillings per pound.

From the whole history of the Algerine tribute,
it is obvious, that our executive had no grounds to
be so angry, even if the French did ask for a present
in money, which, most probably, never was the
case. To the Alg^erines we never were in the
smallest degree indebted more than we have been
to England; on the contrary, we have suffered from
both nations ; even in time of peace, our citizens
have been impressed by the one, and enslaved by
the other....our commerce has been trampled upon
by both, and our laws spurned with contempt. An
American Republican is as much despised in Bri-
tain as in Algiers, and regarded with the same
insignificance as an African in the United States.
A dereliction of his principles can only insure his
person protection in London or Edinburgh. In
the year 1794, thirty students from Virginia were
nearly massacred, in the theatre of the latter
metropohs, from their ignorance that it was the
practice to give the same homage to the tune of God
save the King, as the Christian pays to his Creator....
yet this is the nation in whose alliance Mr. Adams

OF JOHN ADAMS. 109

<5-loned, whose administration he adored, and the
government of which he held up to his country
as a model of perfection. In speaking disrespect-
fully of Great Britain, I hope it will not be sup-
posed I attempt to stigm^.tize the people of that
kingdom.... the king, the nobles, the army and the
priests, must be separated from the people. The
individuals there, who are not connected with go-
vernment, entertain principles equally liberal with
Frenchmen or Americans, and the superior advan-
tage of education which they enjoy, gives a ra-
tional firmness to the mind, which the mass of
Americans is still unacquainted with.

The secret connection which subsisted between
Mr. Adams and the government of Great Britain,
is no where more conspicuous than in the myste-
rious conspiracy of Senator Blount. In the history
of modern intrigue, it is impossible to find a paral-
lel to this : An English ambassador is proved, by
his owrx confession, to have held a secret and il-
legal correspondence with members of the Senate
,...yet this ambassador is not only suflfered by the
President to exercise the usual functions of his of-
fice, but to conceal the names of those Americans
who were to be his accomplices in the destruction
of our country. A greater degree of friendship and
intimacy even manifested itself between Mr. Adams
and Mr. Liston after the discovery of this afi'air
than before ; their interviews were more frequent,
and the dry formality of a courtly audience was
exchanged for the familiar ceremony of domestic

110 THE ADMINISTRATION

acquaintance. Nothing was more common than
for the President of the United States and the am-
bassador of Great Britain, to be seen arm and arm
in the streets of Philadelphia, discussing the poH-
tics of the day, and contrasting the shrewd observa-
tions of Mr. Cobbett, (as they were pleased to term
them) with the scurrilous abuse of Mr. Duane.*

If we draw our attention a moment to the pre«
parations which were carrying on in Britain, at the
beginning of 1797, we shall see sufficient proofs of
the reality of Bioimt*s plan. Ten thousand troops

* Mr. Duane had been the proprietor and editor of several
newspapers in India, but the last, which was his sole property,
was " The Indian World" by which he had realized a handsome
fortune, and in September, 1794, advertised his whole standing
property for sale, meaning, and publishing his intention, to return
to Philadelphia. His property was to be sold on the ist of Janu-
ary, 1795, and he had sought a passage in the Hercules, of
Boston, Capt. Delano, then lying at Calcutta, and to sail in all
April.

At this time, Mr. Duane was on terms of the best good will
with most of the public characters in that part of India, and in the
especial esteem of the gentlemen of the army, v^-ho had made his
paper the vehicle by which their grievances were complained of, and
which have since been redressed in the most ample manner. Mr.
Duane had been particularly noticed by Sir William Jones, and
Sir John Shore, and from both had received tokens of marked
attention, v^rhich he considered flattering and honorable to him.
On the evening of the 26th December, 1794, a note was left at
Mr. Duane's country-house, written by Capt. John Collins, pri-
vate secretary to Sir John Shore, inviting Mr. Duane to the Gov-
ernor-General's house, on the next day, at 8 o'clock. Mr. Du-
ane did not receive the note until the morning of the 27th, when
on his way to the Grand Lodge of Masons, whose festival was

OF JOHN ADAMS. 1 1 I

were kept encamped for six months together, at
Plymouth, for the ostensible purpose of proceeding
to the West-Indies 3 to the West-Indies they never
went, nor was there ever a rational apology assigned
by Mr. Pitt for this unaccountable armament, who
retained idle for such a period, not only this army,
but a fleet of one hundred transports, which lay
ready to receive them. When we add to this, that
in the spring of the same season, one regiment of
artillery and three regiments of infantry, were dis-
patched to Canada with fifty thousand stand of

an that day ; he instantly proceeded to the Governor-Generars,
expecting to breakfast there. He was met in the saloon by
Capt. Collins, and after salutations, the following circumstances
took place :

Capt. Cojhns. I am glad you are fo punctual, Mr. Duane.

Mr. Duane. I generally am, Sir ; I hope the Governor-
General is well.

Capt. C. He is not to be seen, and— -

Mr. D. I understood I was invited by him.

Capt. C. Yes Sir, but I am directed by the Governor-Gen-
eral to inform you, that you are to consider yourself as a state pri-
soner. [He stampt on the floor, and thirty Sepahis, who stood
concealed behind the folding doors of an anti-chamber, rushed
out, and presented their bayonets to D.'s breast. ...the doors be-
ing left open by them, discovered Sir John Shore, and two others
of the Supreme Council on a sopha.]

Mr. D. I did not think Sir John Shore, or you. Sir, could
be so base and treacherous as to proceed, or even to think as you
do.

Capt. C. Silence, Sir — (To the Sepahis) Chilloiv Sepahi
(in English, drag him along, Sepahis.)

Mr. D. (To the Sepahis) Osti babaa-hum becjagga..*»{soh\Y

n2 THE ADMINISTRATION

.11 ms, what arc we to suppose ? Previous to 1797,
there were sufficient troops and arms in Canada to
keep tlie natives in subjection. ...something more
must have been intended. There was no invasior>
dreaded in that quarter of the globe, from France,
nor had Britain any enemies in that part of Ame-
rica to contend widi. Some expedition or other
must have been meditated to take place in Canada,
and this expedition could only have been against
the United States, or against Spanish America,
through the medium of the United States. Such

my friends, I shall go along with you). ...to Collins.. ..What is to
follow next, Collins ; the bow-string or scymetar ?

Capt. C. You are insolent, Sir.... Chillow jotiby soor Marani
....(drag him along, you pig eating scoundrels.)

Mr. D. You are performing the part of Grand Vizier, now,
my httle gentleman, and these are your mutes.. ..Calcutta is be-
come Constantinople, and the Governor-General the Grand
Turk.

Much more passed, but during the last sentences, Mr. Duane
was conveyed down stairs, put into his palanquin, and his bear-
ers beaten all the way to Fort WiUiam. There he was given iii
charge with ridiculous fuss.... two centinels placed at the outer
door of the quarters, (which were those of a field officer) and a
centinel with a drawn bayonet, always by his side, asleep or a-
wake. The day he was seized, was Saturday ; on Monday
morning following, a company of Royal Grenadiers paraded on
the ramparts, and he was marched to the water side, where a
company of Royal Light Infantry was ready to receive him in a
barge, upon he which was conducted to an armed Indiaman, com-
manded by Sir Charles Mitchel, and carried to Europe. No
charge was ever lodged against him, but when at St Helena he
would not be permitted to go on shore there, being z foreigner, and
when the vessel arrived in the English Channel he was put on

OF JOHN ADAMS. 113

an enormous quantity of arms as fifty thousaud
stand could have been sent for no other purpose ;
the army of ten thousand men, if the expedition
had taken place, would, most probably, have land-
ed in South America, in place of the West-Indies,
so rs to co-operate with the force fi-om Canada,
precisely according to the plan laid down by Sena-
tor Blount. What became of the British arms
which were sent to Canada, we know not. Whe-
ther they are there still, cr were afterwards sent

shore without obtaining a single word of infoi-mation as to iht
cause. Though his property on a moderate calculation was
worth ;^8ooo sterling, beside out-standing debts to the amount
of 25,000 Roupees or 13,000 Dollars, when he applied to one
of the first lawyers in England to institute a suit for the re-
covery of it, the gentleman had the candour to ask how much
money he had left ; being told about £200 sterhng, he return-
ed a fee of 20 guineas, said that though the case was one of
the most extraordinary and oppressive he had ever heard of, he
advised Mr. DUaae not to attempt wasting what he had left, in a
competition with the funds of the East-India Company, who
could spend ;^40,ooo without missing It. Several gentlemen had
written from India to their friends In behalf of Mr. Duane, among
others to Lord Lucan, who in conversation with Mr. Duane,
said that the only way to recover lils property would be to go
to Mr. Dundas, and make a disclosure of all that he knew con-
cerning persons in India.. ..this intimation might have been in-
terpreted two ways, but the first impression which It made on
Mr. Duane was that of contempt ; he took his hat and without
saying a word, left 'him, and relinquished all hope of restitution
for the robbery. In a few weeks afterwards Mr. Duane return-
ed to his native country, and of course vrith very great cause to
admire the Constitution, laws and order of the British govern-
ment, domestic and foreign !

P

114 THE admi:nistration

back, is a matter upon \vbicli the English papers
are silent.

I shall conclude this chapter with an account
of the principal depredations committed on our
commerce by British vessels of war, from May,
1797, until the meeting of Congress in November.

On the 23d of May, 1797, James Hammond,
a native citizen of the United States, belonging to
the Am-erican ship Hope, of New-York, Michael
Pierce, master, when on shore in the Island of Ma-
deira was pressed by Captain James, of the Bri-
tish brig of war, El-Corso, and carried forcibly on
board in open day, before the house of the Ameri-
can Consul, Mr. Pintard. Captain Pierce having
applied to Mr. Pintard for redress, the latter wait-
ed upon the British Vice-Consul^, who, at length,
persuaded Captain James to deliver up Hammond ;
but the day before the Hope intended to sail, a
boat's crew came again on board from the El-Corso
and carried off five men, three of them Am^ericans,
one a Swede and the other an Italian. Mr. Pintard
remonstrated Vvith the British Consul upon the
grossness of the insult, but received for answer, that
all interference on his part would be in vain, for Bri-
tish Captains' supposed they had, when out of Bri-
tish ports, an unlimited authority to tyrannise over
the rest of mankind. Captain Pierce then went to
the British Captain himself, but the only satisfac-
tion he received, was to be thrown into prison
along with the supercargo, for refusing to give the
five men their wages.

OF JOHN ADAMS. . 115

On the 2d of June, 1797, a number of Ameri-
can captains, at Port-au-Prince, in St. Domingoj
presented a petition to governor Simcoe....they re-
presented that eleven American vessels, with car-
goes amounting'- to three hundred thousand dollars,
had been captured by British privateers, and were
then lying in that port in expectation of a trial,...
they had applied for it, and were told in answer,
that they were to be sent for adjudication to Mole
St. Nicholas. They state, that several of the vessels
could not proceed to that place without conside-
rable repairs, and that others had been abandon-
ed bv their crews ; some with their cargoes were
likev/ise in a state of suffering. Many of the pe-
titioners being entire strangers, were reduced to in-
conveniences from want of money. Several crews
and supercargoes were laid under the most distress-
ing circumstances, from sickness, disappointment
and mortification.

The Governor's answer was haughty and re-
proachful. He promised to recommend to the
judge of the Admiralty, Mr. Combauld, to decide
their cases at an early period ; but he gave them
no reason to suppose that there would be a court
erected for that purpose at Port-au-Prince. He hop-
ed that they would be acquitted of that contraband
traffic, which many citizens of the United States
carried on with the French 8:ov^ernment in Sf. Do-
mingo. He closed with 'telling them, that this
illicit trade might, at no remote distance, seriously
disturb the security of the American continent.

116 THE ADMINISTRATION

On the 27th of July, 1797, Nathaniel Silsbee,
Captain of the ship Betsey, wrote a letter to the
printer of a Salem newspaper; he had arrived at
Salem from Madras, three days before the date ot
the letter. At his departure, there were in that port
nine English ships of war. One of them was the
Sybille frigate. Captain Cook, who pressed from
Captain Silsbee, Edward Hulen, a native of Salem..
He also threatened, that if any complaint should be
made by Silsbee to the governor on shore, he would
jnotonly take every seaman, but every ofticer from
the Betsey. He did not com-mit this violence from
scarcity of hands ; for he told Captain Silsbee that
he had thirty-five men over and above his ship's
complement. He added, that he believed fifteen of
them were real American citizens ; that he had
pressed them from on board of American ships at
Lisbon, in spite of the rem.onstrances of the Ameri-
can Consul at that place. Cook farther declared,
that he would keep these men in perfect security
till the end of the war.

After the impressment of Hulen, the Betsey
was daily visited by a Lieutenant from the Sybille ;
during his stay on board, this officer took full com-
mand of the ship, miUstered the crew regularly on
the quarter deck, and would not suffer any ship's
duty to be carried on at these tim.es ; he farther
threatened to correct the American officers for not
manning the ship's-side, and paying him such res-
pect, as he said, the presence of any British officer
ought to command.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 117

The brig Two Sisters, Captain Conkling, of
New-York, on the 13th of August was boarded by
the General Nicholl, a British Letter of Marque,
Captain Morrison. ...Captain Conkling Was ordered
on board with his papers ; Morrison, without
deigning to examine them, put them in his chest,
and w^ent himself on board the brig, where he beat
vrith his hanger every sailor, ordering them at the
same time, to declare the property to be French.
Finding, however, such treatment in vain, he took
the mate and the men on board and put the
whole in irons, until he rifled the vessel complete-
ly. The brig after being deprived of the most valu-
able part of her cargo, was afterwards dismissed.

The following is a summary of an account sta-
ted by Captain Dunlevy, who remained in Hispa-
niola from the 9th of June to the 20th of October,
1797 : Eighteen American vessels with their car-
goes were condemned. ...two of the captains of
these ships were detained three months before they
could get their papers, which could have been had
wdth ease in three days, or a much less time ; another
of the captains died of grief; a nineteenth vessel,
with her cargo, was sold to pay the costs of suit s
a twentieth was cleared, but the cargo condemned.

These were the advantages America reaped
from her alliance with monarchy. It is true, in-
numerable instances occurred, this summer, of like
depredations on the part of France ; but then it
ought to be remembered, that we were in a state of
war with that country, but at peace v^^ith England.

118 THE ADMINISTRATION

CHAPTER V.

Speech cfthe President, ...Address from the Senate....
Blovnfs Conspiracy. ...Quarrel between Mr. Lyon
and Mr. Griszvold... .Instances of a similar nature
in the Parliament of Scotland, the House of Coju-
mons in England, and the Senate of Lucerne, in
Szvitzerland. . ..Communication from the President
relative to the negociation with France.... Acts
passed by Congress.

1 HE House of Representatives met, accord-
ing to their resolution of adjournment, on the 2d
Monday of November ; but a sufficient number of
Senators having not come forward to form a quo-
rum until the 23d of November, no business of
consequence was entered upon. ...about twelve that
day, both houses being convened, the President
delivered the following speech :

" Gentlemen of the Senate, and

" Gentlemen of the House of Bepresentatives,

^^ I was for some time apprehensive that it v/ould
be necessary, on account of the contagious sickness
which afflicted the city of Philadelphia, to convene
the national legislature at some other place.

^' This measure it was desirable to avoid; be-
cause it would occasion much public inconveni-
ence, and a considerable public expence, and add
to the calamities of the inhabitants of this city,
whose sufferings must have excited the sympathy
of all their fellow-citizens. Therefore, after taking

OF JOHN ADAMS, I 19

measures to ascertain the state and decline of the
sickness, I postponed my determination, having
hopes, now happily realized, that, without hazard
to the lives or health of the members. Congress
might assemble at this place, where it was next by
law to m.eet. I submit, however, to your considera»-
tion, whether a power to postpone the meeting of
Congress, wdthout passing the time affixed by the
constitution, upon such occasions, would not be a
useful amendment to the law of one thousand seven
hundred and ninety-four ?

" Althouo[h I cannot vet consjratulate vou on the
re-establishment of peace in Europe and the resto-
ration of security to the persons and properties of
our citizens from injustice and violence at sea,
we have, nevertheless, abundant cause of gratitude
to the source of benevolence and influence, for in-
terior tranquility and personal security ; for propi-
tious seasons, prosperous agriculture, productive
fisheries, and general improvements ; and above
all, for a rational spirit of civil and religious liberty,
and a calm, but steady determination, to support
our sovereignty, as well as our moral and religious
liberty, against all open and secret attacks.

" Our envoys extraordinary to the French Re-
public, embarked the one in July, the other early
in August, to join their colleague in Holland. I
have received intelligence of the arrival of both of
them in Holland, from whence they all proceeded
ontheir journey to Paris, within a few days of the
nineteenth of September. Yv'hatever m?y be the

120 THE AT?^1M3TRATI0N

result of this mission, I trust that nothing will have
been omitted on my part, to conduct the negocia-
tion to a successful conclusion, on such equitable
terms, as may be compatible with the safety, honor
and interest of the United States. Nothing, in the
mean time, will contribute so much to the preser-
vation of peace, and the attainment of justice, as
a manifestation of that energy and unanimity, of
which, on many former occasions, the people of the
United States have given such memorable proofs,
and the exertion of those resources for natural de-
fence, which a beneficent providence has kindly
placed within their power.

*' It may be confidently affirmed, that nothing
has occurred since the adjournment of Congress,
which renders inexpedient those precautionary
measures recommended by me, to the considera-
tion of the two Houses, at the opening of your late
extraordinary session. If that system was then
prudent, it is more so now, as increasing depre-
dations strengthen the reasons for its adoption.

" Indeed, whatever may be the issue of the ne-
gociation with France, and whether the wcr in
Europe is or is not to continue, I hold it most cer-
tain, that permanent tranquility and order vAW not
soon be obtained. The state of society has so
long been disturbed, the sense of m.oral and reli-
gious obligations so much weakened, public faith
and national honor have been so impaired, respect
to treaties has been so diminished, and the law of
nations has lost so much of its force ; while pride.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 121

ambition, avarice and violence have been so long
unrestrained, there remains no reasonable ground
on which to raise an expectation that a commerce
without protection or defence will not be plun-
dered.

" The commerce of the United States is essen-
tial, if not to their existence, at least to their comfort,
their growth, prosperityand happiness. The genius,
character and habits of the people are highly com-
mercial; their cities have been formed and exist up-
on commerce ; their agriculture, fisheries, arts and
manufactures are connected with, and depend upon
it. In short, commerce has made this country what it
is, and it cannot be destroyed or neglected without
involving the people in poverty and distress. ...great
numbers are directly and solely supported by navi-
gation....the faith of society is pledged for the pre-
servation of the rights of commercial and sea-faring,
no less than of the other citizens. Under this view
of our affairs, I should hold myself guilty of a ne-
glect of duty, if I forbore to recommend that we
should make every exertion to protect our com-
merce, and to place our country in a suitable pos-
ture of defence, as the only sure means of preserv-
ing both.

" I have entertained an expectation that it would
have been in my power, at the opening of the ses-
sion, to have communicated to you the agreeable
information of the due execution of our treaty
with his Catholic Majesty, respecting the withdraw-
ing of his troops from our territory, and thedemar-

Q

J 22 THE ADMINISTRATIOJ

cation of the line of limits. But by the latest 'au-
thentic intelligence, Spanish garrisons were still
continued within our country, and the running of
the boundary line had not been commenced. These
circumstances are the more to be regretted, as
they cannot fail to affect the Indians in a manner
injurious to the United States. Still, however,
indulging the hope that the answers which have
been given will remove the objections offered by
the Spanish officers to the immediate execution of
the treaty, I have judged it proper that we should
continue in readiness to receive the posts, and to
run the line of limits.

" Further information on this subject will be
communicated in the course of the session.

" In connection Vvuth this unpleasant state of
things on our western frontier, it is proper for me
to mention the attem.pts of foreign agents to alien-
ate the affections of the Indian nations, and to
excite them to actual hostilities a^rainst the United
States. Great activity has been exerted by these
persons, who have insinuated themselves among
the Indian tribes residing within the territory of the
United States, to influence them to transfer their
affections and force to a foreign nation ; to form
them into a confederacy, and to prepare them for
war against the United States.

" Although measures have been taken to coun-
teract these infractions of our rights, to prevent In-
dian hostilities, and to preserve entire their attach-
ment to the United States, it is my duty to observe.

OF JOHN ADAMS- 123

that to give a better eifect to these measures, and.
to obviate the consequences of a repetition of such
practices, a law providing adequate punishment
for such offences may be necessary.

" The commissioners appointed under the fifth
article of the treaty of amity^. commerce and navi-
gation, between the United States and Great Bri-
tain, to ascertain the river whicb was truly intend-
ed under the name of St. Croix, m.entioned in the
treaty of peace, met at Passamaquoddy Bay, in
October, 1796, and viewed the mouths of the rivers
in question, and the adjacent shores and islands,
and being of opinion that actual surveys of both
rivers to their sources were necessary, gave to the
agents of the two nations instructions for that pur-
pose, and adjourned to meet at Boston in August,
They met, but the surveys requiring more time
than had been supposed, and not being then com-
pleted, the comm.issioners again adjourned to meet
at Providence, In the State of Rhode-Island, in
June next, when we may expect a final examina-
tion and decision.

" The commissioners appointed in pursuance of
the 6th article of the treaty, met at Philadelphia in
May last, to examine the claims of British sub-
jects, for debts contracted before the peace, and
still remaining due to them from citizens or inhab-
itants of the United States. Various causes have
hitherto prevented any determinations ;. but the bu-
siness is now resumed, and doubtless will be pro-
secuted without interruption.

124 THE ADMINISTRATION

" Several decisions on the claims of citizens o(
the United Slates, for losses and damages sustain-
ed by reason of irregular and illegal captures or
condemnations of their vessels, or other property,
have been made by the commissioners in London,
conformably to the seventh article of the treaty.
The sums av^^arded by the commissioners have
been paid by the British government. A conside-
rable number of other claims, where costs and da-
mages, and not captured property, were the only
objects in question, have been decided by arbitra-
tion, and the sums awarded to the citizens of the
United States have also been paid.

" The commissioners appointed agreeably to
the twenty-first article of our treaty with Spain,
met at Philadelphia in the summer past, to exa-
mine and decide on the claims of our citizens for
losses they have sustained, in consequence of their
vessels and cargoes having been taken by the sub-
jects of his Catholic M;ijesty, during the late war
between Spain and France. ...their sittings have
been interrupted, but are now resumed.

^' The United States being obligated to rriake
compensation for the losses and damages sustained
by British subjects, upon the award of the commis-
sioners acting under the sixth article of the treaty
with Great Britain, and for the losses and damages
sustained by British subjects, by reason of the
capture of their vessek and merchandize, taken
w^ithin the limits and jurisdiction of the United
States and brought into their ports, or taken by

OF JOHN ADAMS. 125

vessels originally armed in ports of the United
States, upon the awards of the commissioners act-
ing under the seventh article of the same treaty,
it is necessary that provision be made for fulfilling
these obligations.

" The numerous captures of American vessels
by the cruizers of the French Republic, and of
some by those of Spain, have occasioned considera-
ble expences in making and supporting the claims
of our citizens before their tribunals. The sums
required for this purpose have, in divers instances,
been disbursed by the consuls of the United States.
By means of tlie same captures, great numbers of
our seamen have been throv^m ashore in foreijrn
countries, destitute of all means of subsistence ; and
the sick in particular have been exposed to griev-
ous sufferings.

'' The consuls have in these cases also advanced
monies for their relief. For these advances they
reasonably expect reimbursements from the United
States.

'' The consular act relative to seamen requires
revision and amendment. ...the provisions for their
support in foreign countries, and for their return, are
found to be inadequate and ineffectual. Another
provision seems necessary to be added to the con-
sular act. ...some foreign vessels have been discover-
ed sailing under the flag of the United States, and
with forged papers. ...it seldom happens that the
consul can detect this deception ; because they
have no authority to demand an inspection of the
register and sea-letters.

126 THE ADMINISTRATIOIT

" Gentlemen of ike House of Bepresentative^j

" It is my duty to recommend to your serious
consideration, those objects which by the consti-
tution are placed particularly within your sphere^
the national debt and taxes.

" Since the decay of the feudal system, by
which the public defence was provided for chief-
ly at the expence of individuals, the system of loan
has been introduced. ...and as no nation can raise
within the year by taxes, sufficient sums for its de-
fence and military operations in time of war, the
sums loaned and debts contracted have necessarily
become the subject of what have been called fund-
ing systems.

'' The consequences arising from the continual
accumulation of public debts in other countries,
ought to admonish us to be careful to prevent
their grov,^th in our own. The national defence
must be provided for, as w^ell as the support of gov-
ernment ; but both should be accomplished as much
as possible by immediate taxes, and as little as
possible by loans.

" The estimates for the service of the ensuing
year, will, by my direction, be laid before you.
*^ Gentlemen of the Senate, and

" Gentlemen of the House of Representatives^

**' We are met together at a most interesting pe-
riod....the situations of the principal powers of Eu-
rope are singular and portentous j connected with
some by treaties, and with all by com.merce, no im-
portant event there can be indifferent to us. Such

OF JOHN ADAMS. 127

Circumstances call with peculiar importunity, not
less for a disposition to unite in all those measures
on which the honor, safety and prosperity of our
country depend, than for all the exertions of wis-
dom and firmness.

" In all such measures, you may rely on my
zealous and hearty concurrence."

After the President retired, the House proceed-
ed to the choice of a Chaplain. The persons no-
minated, were Dr. Green, Dr. Priestly, Dr. Blair,
General Williams and Mr. Ustick. When the votes
were examined. Dr. Green was found to have 53,
and none of the rest m.ore than six. ...he was or
course duly elected.

On Friday, the 54th, Mr. Harper moved for an
address to the communications of the President.-
He was opposed by Mr. Lyon, who showed very
forcibly the absurdity, and the expence incurred to
the nation, by establishing a custom of debating ten
or fourteen days, as in the last session, about the
wording of an answer to the President's speech.
The motion of Mr. Harper was, however, carried ;
and after a week's deliberation, an answer was
agreed to nearly similar to the one presented by the
Senate. Of the two, this deserves more particular
notice, as it will shew the state of humble submis-
sion to which the Senate, (a body that ought to have
retained some appearance of dignity) descended in
the late administration:
" Sir,

" The communication you have thought proper
to make in your speech to both Houses of Congress,

128 THE ADMINISTRATION

on the opening of their present session, afford addi-
tional proofs of the attention, integrity and firmness
which have marked your official character.

" We cannot but approve of the measures you
had taken to ascertain the state and decline of the
contagious sickness which has so lately afflicted the
city of Philadelphia, and the pleasing circumstance
that Congress is now assembled at that place, with-
out hazard to the health of its members, evinces
the propriety of your having postponed a determina-
tion to convene the national legislature at any other
place. ...we shall take into consideration the law of
1794, on this subject, and will readily concur in
any amendment which may be deemed expedient.

" It would have given us much pleasure to
have received your congratulations on the re-estab-
lishment of peace in Europe, and the restoration
of security to the persons and properties of our ci-
tizens from injustice and violence at sea. But
though these events, so desirable to our country
and the w^orld, have not taken place, yet we have
abundant cause of gratitude to the Great Disposer
of human events, for interior tranquility and per-
sonal security ; for propitious seasons, prosperous
agricultujpe, productive fisheries, and general im-
provement ; and above all, for a rational spirit of
civil and religious liberty, and a calm, but steady
determination to support our sovereignty against
all open and secret attacks.

'' We learn with satisfaction, that our envoys
extraordinary to the French Republic, had safely

OF JOHN ADAMS. 129

arrived in pAirope, and were proceeding to the scene
cf negociation ; and whatever may be the result
of the mission, we are perfectly satisfied that noth-
ing on your part has been omitted, which could
any way conduce to a successful conclusion of
the negociation, upon terms compatible with the
safety, honor and interest of the United States;
and we are fully convinced, that in the mean time,
a manifestation of the unanimity and energy of
which the people of the United States have given
such memorable proofs, and a proper exertion of
those resources of national defence which we pos-
sess, will essentially contribute to the preservation
of peace and the attainment of justice.

" We think. Sir, with you, that the commerce
of the United States is essential to the growth, com-
fort and prosperity of our country ; and that the
faith of society is pledged for the preservation of
the rights of commercial and sea-faring, no less
than of other citizens; and even if our negociation
with France should terminate favorably, and the
war in Europe cease, yet the state of society which
unhappily prevails in so great a portion of the
world, and the experience of past times under bet-
ter circumstances, unite in warning us that a com-
merce so extensive, and which holds out so many
temptations to lawless plunderers, can never be
safe without protection and defence ; and we hold
ourselves obliged by every tie of duty which binds
us to our constituents, to promote and concur in
such measures of marine defence as mav convince

R

130 THE ADMINISTRATION

our merchants and seamen that their rights are
not sacrificed nor their injuries forgotten.

*' We regret that notwithstanding the clear
and explicit terms of the treaty between the United
States and his Catholic Majesty, the Spanish garri-
sons are not yet withdrawn from our territory, nor
the running of the boundary line commenced.

" The United States have been faithful in the
performance of their obligations to Spain, and had
reason to expect a compliance equally prompt on
the p?rt of that power. Yv^e still, however, in-
dulge the hope that the convincing answers which
have been given to the objections stated by the
Spanish officers to the immediate execution of the
treaty, will have their proper effect, and that this
treaty, so mutually benefical to the contracting
parties, wall be finally observed with good faith....
we, therefore, entirely approve of your determina-
tion to continue in readiness to receive the posts,
and to run the line of partition between our terri-
tory and that of the King of Spain. Attempts to
alienate the affections of the Indians, to form them
into actual hostility against the United States, whe-
ther made by foreign agents or by others, are so in-
jurious to our interests at large, and so inhuman
with respect to our citizens inhabiting the adjacent
territory, as to deserve the most exemplary punish-
ment, and we will cheerfully afford our aid in
framing a law which may prescribe a punishment
adequate to the commission of crimes so heinous.

OF^JOHN ADAMS. 131

*'•' The several objects you have pointed out
to the attention of the Legislature, v/hether they
regard our internal or external relations, shall re-
ceive from us that attention wliich they merit, and
we will readily concur, in all such measures as
may be necessary, either to enable us to fulfil
our engagements at home or to cause ourselves
to be respected abroad ; and at this portentous pe-
riod, when the powers of Europe, with whom
we are connected by treaty or commerce, are
in so critical a situation, and when the conduct
of some of those powers towards the United States
is so hostile and menacing, the several branches
of the government, are, in our opinion, called up-
on with peculiar importunity to unite, and, by
union, not only to devise and to carry into effect
these measures, on which the safety and prosperity
of our country depend, but also to undeceive those
nations, who, regarding us as a weak and divided
people, have pursued systems of aggression incon-
sistent with a state of peace between independent
nations. And, sir, we beg leave to assure you, that
we derive a singular consolation from the reflection,
that at such a time the Executive part of our go-
vernment has been committed to your hands 5 for
in your integrity, talents and firmness, we place the
most entire confidence."

To this address the President v/as pleased to
give a few words in reply, complimenting them
in his turn, upon their wisdom, their penetration,
and independent spirit.

132 THE ADMINISTRATION

The House of Representatives delivered their
address the day following, and received the honor
of tasting the wine and breaking the bread of the
President. Mr. Lyon, of Vermont, was the only
member who had the firmness to refuse attending
this procession.

The first important business which came be-
fore Congress this ses-sion, was the conspiracy of
governor Blount. Mr. Sitgreaves, on the 4th of
December, brought up the report from the com-
mittee which had been appointed for the purpose
of collecting evidence relative to this subject. In
their report the committee state, that soon after
their appointment, they received a trunk from J.
Ross, Esq. containing sundry papers belonging to
William Blount, which had been seized by order
of the Senate. From a perusal of these papers, it
appeared that one Nicholas Romayne, a practition-
er of physic, in New- York, was intimately connect-
ed with Blount. They, therefore, conceived it to
be their duty to secure the person of Romayne, and
for that purpose issued a writ, the execution of
which they placed in the hands of the Secretary of
State, who appointed Captain \V. Eaton, messen-
ger on the occasion. This messenger returned
with Romayne and his papers, which he also
seized on the 10th of July. Mr. Romayne, after
being examined, gave security for his appearance
before the Senate on the trial of Blount.

Major Lewis was appointed by the commit-
tee to secure James Carey and one James Grant,

OF JOHN ADAMS. 133

who also appeared to have had connections with
Blount. Mr. William Davy, of Philadelphia, was
examined respecting a Mr. Chisholm, who sailed
for London in a vessel chartered by him, having
his passage paid by Mr. Liston. Mr. Davy recol-
lected a conversation which passed between Mr.
Chisholm and Mr. Thornton, the Deputy of Mr.
Listen, who promised Chisholm the command of a
squadron to act against Pensacola. He also pro-
duced a letter from his brother in London, mention-
ing that Chisholm endeavored to get money from
him ; but before he gave him any, he applied to
Lord Grenville's office, to know if he had got any
money from thence, and finding they had supplied
him largely, he declined letting him have any.

The deposition of Dr. Romayne was nearly as
follows : He stated that he had been acquainted
with Mr. Blount since 1782 ^ that his first acquaint-
ance with Chisholm, was whilst in treaty with Mr.
Blount in land speculation. Some time afterwards
he intended going to London to sell lands, but
abandoned that design, owing to property falling
in price. He said governor Blount promised to
procure a bill to enable aliens to hold land in the
State of Tennessee. He confessed that Blount
used often to regret that the English did not possess
Louisiana, and spoke of going to England on that
business, for that they had much better possess
it than the French ; that it was agreed on be-
tween Blount and himself, to sound certain persons
in Philadelphia, as-^'well as in Virginia and the

i^* THE ADMINlSTRATlOir

Southern States, on this subject ; but that the
whole business had been dropped for some time^
by Blount's neglecting to answer his letters.

The letters which passed between Blount and
Romayne have dates from February to May, 1797,
and were chiefly on the project of going to England
on the business of Louisiana. In these letters Dr.
Romayne frequently speaks with confidence of suc-
cess, and often remarks upon the critical situation
of the European powers, and the improbability of
peace.

Several letters passed between Romayne and
Mr. Liston, but the former acknowledged their be-
ing destroyed, except the following one, w^hich, of
itself is a sufficient proof of the conspiracy on the
part of the British minister :

Philadelphia, 2Uh April, 1797.

" I am much indebted to you, Sir, for your
friendly letter of the 14th of this month, inclosing
one from Mr. Palteney, whose good opinion gives
me high satisfaction. (That letter is now returned.)

" Taking it for granted that I understand to
what business you allude, I could wish to have a
full examination of your sentiments on the subject.
It may be done, I think, in writing ; you may de-
pend on secrecy and discretion on my part.

" The general sketch of what has taken place
here, is, that a person came to me to make certain
important propositions of enterprize, to which I
listened, but said I had no j.i»wer to act.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 135

'' He appeared to me determined and active,
xhoueh illiterate and unfit to assume command.

" He urged to have my consent to go to Europe^
to tell his own story, to which I consented (though
with some hesitation) not thinking myself authorized
to give a positive refusal.

" It strikes me that if a person of confidence,
with proper authority from home, were to accom-
pany him to the scene of action, something might
probably be effected.

'' Information of every sort will be gratefully
received.

" N. B. I have no intention of sending my se-
cretary any where.

" Believe me, with great truth and regard. Sir,
your most obedient, humble servant,

^' ROBERT LISTON.
"Dr. Romayne.'*

The charges exhibited by the House of Repre-
"sentatives against William Blount^ are contained
in the five following articles :

'^ APvTICLE I.

." That whereas, the United States in the
months of February, March, April, May and June,
1797, were at peace with his Catholic Majesty, the
King of Spain ; and whereas, during the months
aforesaid, his said Catholic Majesty and the King
of Great Britain were at war with each other ; yet
he the said William Blount, though a Senator of
the United States, did conspire, w^ithin its territo-
ries, to carry on a military expedition ar^ainst the

136 THE ADMINISTRATION

dominions of his Catholic Majesty in tht Floridas
and Louisiana, for the purpose of conquering the
same for the King of Great Britain.

" ARTICLE II.

" That whereas, on the 27th of October, 1795,
a treaty of friendship, limits and navigation, was
concluded between the United States and his Ca-
thohc Maje&ty, by the 5th article of which, it was
agreed that the two contracting parties should main-
tain peace and harmony among the Indian nations
who inhabit the country adjacent to the two Floridas
....yet the said Mr. Blount, disregarding the stipula-
tions of said treaty, did conspire to excite the Creek
and Cherokee Indians to commence hostilities a-
gainst the subjects of his Catholic Majesty in the
Floridas and Louisiana, for the purpose of reducing
the same to the dominion of the King of Great Bri-
tain, with whom his Catholic Majesty was at war.

" ARTICLE III.

"That whereas, by the ordinances of Congress
for regulating trade and intercourse with the Indian
tribes, it has been made lawful for the President of
the United States, in order to insure the continu-
ance of the friendship of the said Indian tribes, to
appoint temporary. agents to reside among them;
and whereas, in pursuance of the said authority, he
did appoint Benjamin Hawkins to be principal
temporary agent for Indian affairs within the In-
dian nations south of the river Ohio. ...yet the said
Wijliam Blount did, in the prosecution of his crim-
inal designs, contrive to alienate the confidence of

OF JOHN ADAM3. 137

the said Indian tribes from Benjamin Hawkins,
contrary to the duty of his trust and station as a
senator of the United States.

" ARTICLE IV.

" That whereas, by the ordinances of Congress
k is made lawful for the President to establish
tradins: houses at such places on the western and
southern frontiers as he shall judge most conveni-
ent for carrying on a liberal trade with the Indian
nations, and to appoint an agent in each trading
house, with such clerks as may be necessary for
the execution of the said acts, he did appoint
James Carey to be the interpreter for the United
States to the Cherokee nation ; yet the said Wil-
liam Blount did contrive, by bribery and corrup-
tion, to lead off the said James Carey from the
"duties of his office,

*^ ARTICLE V.

** That whereas, certain tribes oT nations of In-
dians inhabit within the territorialiimitsof the Uni-
ted States, between whom and the settlements of
the United States certain boundary lines have been
agreed upon, to separate the lands and possessions
of the said Indians from the lands and possessions
of the United States ; and whereas, it was further
stipulated that the boundary line should be ascer-
tained and marked by three persons appointed on
the part of the United States, and three Chcrokees
on the part of their nation; yet the said William
Blount did contrive to create and foment discon-
tents and disaffection among the said Indians to-

138 THE ADMINISTRATIO-N

wards the government of the United States, in re**
lation to the ascertainnment and marking of the said
boundary line, contrary to the duty and trust of his
station as Senator of the United States, and against
the peace and interests thereof.'*

The following gentlemen were appointed by
the House as managers to conduct the impeach-
ment against Mr. Blount: Mr. Sitgreaves, Mr.
Bayard, Mr. Harper, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Pinckney,
Mr, Dana, Mr. Sewall, Mr. Hosmer, Mr* Den-
nis, Mr. Evans and Mr. Imlay.

During the ballot of their election an unfortu-
nate quarrel took place between two members,
Mathew Lyon, of Vermont, and Roger Griswold,
which occupied the attention of the House for
several weeks after. The committee of privileges,
who were instructed to enquire into the conduct
of these gentlemen, made the following report on
the second of February :

That during the sitting of the House on the
30th of January, when the tellers of the House
were engaged in counting the ballots for managers
of the impeachment against William Blount, Mr.
Lyon was standing without the bar of the House,
and in conversation with the Speaker, who had left
his seat as is usual on such occasions j the subject
of his conversation was the conduct of the Repre-
sentatives of the State of Connecticut, of whom
Mr. Griswold was one. Mr. Lyon declared that
they acted in opposition to the interests and opin-
ions of nine tenths of their constituents ; that they

OF JOHN ADAMS, 13^

were pursuing their own private views, without
regarding the interests of the people of that State ;
that they were seeking offices which they were
willing to accej)t, whether yielding 9000 or 1000
dollars. He further observed, that the people of
that State were blinded and deceived by those Re-
presentatives ; that they were permitted to see but
one side of the question in politics, being lulled
asleep by the opiates which the members from that
State administered to them, with other expressions
equally tending to derogate from the political in-
tegrity of the Representatives of Connecticut.

On Mr. Lyon's observing, that if he should gc
into Connecticut and conduct a letter press there
for six months, although the people of that State
were not fond of revolutionary principles, he could
effect a revolution and turn out the present Repre-
sentatives, Mr. Griswold replied, '' if you go in-
to Connecticut Mr. Lyon, you had better wear
your wooden sword," alluding to Mr. Lyon's hay-
ing been cashiered in the army.

Mr. Lyon did not notice the allusion at the time,
but continued the conversation ; Mr. Griswold
then left his seat and stood next to Mr. Lyon, lean-
ing on the bar, but being outside of the same.

On Mr. Lyon's saying, he knew the people
of Connecticut well, having lived among them ma-
ny years, that he had frequent occasion to fight
them in his own district, and that he never fail-
ed to convince them, Mr. Griswold asked if he

140 THE ADMINISTRATION

fought them with his wooden sword -, on which Mr^.
Lyon spit in his face.

The House was engaged in the investigation of
this unimportant affair until the 28th of February.
A motion was made for the expulsion both of Mr.
Lyon and Mr, Griswold, but it was finally negativ-
ed ; and the two disorderly members were allowed
to retain their seats, without ever receiving a repri-
mand for their conduct. However Mr. Lyon may
be respected for his firmness in adhering to the rights
of his Gountry^jiis conduct on this occasion must be
regarded by every impartial person, to have been
equally unwarrantable and unbecoming the digni-
ty of a member of Congress, as the behavior of Mn
Griswold. Perhaps the punishment of expulsion
might be supposed to affect the rights of their con*-
stituents, but certainly a moderate fine, and a re-
primand from the Speaker, ought to have been the
lightest apology admitted of.

Similar instances of indecorous behavior have
occurred in the parliaments of Britain, and the na-
tional assemblies of other countries y but they have
been always attended with the marked disapproba-
tion of the assembly insulted. During the contest
that took place in the Scotch parhament relative to
the union of that country with England, a furious
Jacobite tory tossed the wig of his poHtical oppo-
nent into the fire. The offender, whose nanie was
M'Donald, was condemned by a vote of the House
to be incapable of wearing a wig on his head, a
sword by his side^, or affixing his arms to any writ-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 141

!en document for the space of one twelvemonth
after the transgression.

In the reign of James I. of England, a motion
was made in the House of Commons to supply
the Welch members with pocket handkerchiefs ;
owing to several indecencies that were daily prac-
tised by these mountaineers.

In Lucerne, in Switzerland, in the year 1792, a
democratical member entered the Senate, with the
three colored ribbon flying at his breast. This As-
sembly, who were all, excepting a few individuals,
attached to aristocracy, evinced their displeasure
by a low hooting and hissing; one, however, who
could not govern so easily his passion, walked up
to the republican member, and tore off, in a forci-
ble manner, the ens-ign of liberty. The aristocrat
was instantly called to order, underwent a trial for
disorderly behavior in the Senate, and was fined
in a sum of 300 florins.

The next business of importance which occu-
pied the attention of Congress, was a communi-
cation of the President, respecting the dispatches
which he had received from the envoys extraordi-
nary of the United States to the government of
France. These papers were laid before the public
by an order of the Senate on the 5th of April. Be-
fore their communication, a thousand reports were
industriously circulated, tending to place the con-
duct of the French Directory in the most odious
light.... even members themselves, were found base
enough to give by letter and otherwise, impressions

142 THE ADMINISTRATION

of their contents very differeFit from the truth. It
was publicly declared, and that on the authority of
a member, that twelve millions of dollars had been
demanded, as a condition on which a negociation
would be opened. This furnishes a striking proof
of the hostile disposition which our Executive en^
tertained towards the French Republic, and of
its determination, at all events, to bring about a
war between the two countries. The limits of
this volume preclude the possibility of inserting
these official papers ; but the following is a correct
summary of their substance :

On the 4th of October, 1797, Charles Cotes-
worth Pinckney, John Marshall and Elbridge Ger-
ry arrived in Paris, as envoys extraordinary from.
the United States of America to the French Re-
public. On the 6th, they communicated their ap-
pointment by an official letter to Talleyrand, minis-
ter of foreign affairs ^ and on the 8th they waited
upon this minister, and delivered their letters of
credence. ...he informed them that he was, by order
of the Directory, preparing a report of the situation
of the United States with regard to France, and
when finished, he would acquaint them with the
steps that were to follow. Cards of hospitality
were then given to them in a style suitable to their
official character.

On the 11th of November, the envoys wrote
an official letter to Talleyrand, complaining of hav-
ing not yet received any reply from him or the Di-
rectory, of the situation in which they were thus

OF JOHN APAMS, 143

left. Not obtaining an answer, they sent their Se-
cretary, Major Rutledge, to Talleyrand, who in-
formed Major Rutledge, that he had communicated
the letter of the envoys to the Directory, and they
would direct him what steps to take.

This was the whole of the official intercourse
our envoys had with the French government. By
letter, dated the 24th of December, they inform
our Secretary of State that they were resolved, if
on the 10th of January they had no official answer
to their letter, to write to Talleyrand, stating the
object of their mission, and discussing the subject
-of difference between the two nations in like man-
ner as if they had been actually received ; and to
close the letter with requesting the government to
open the negociation with them, or to grant them
their passports.

The last letter of the envoys to our government
is dated 8th January, and therefore prior to the let-
ter which they intended to write.

Between the 14th of October and the 1st of
November, some gentlemen (whose names are not
communicated by the Executive to Congress, but
who are designated by the letters W. X. Y. and Z.)
were introduced to our envoys, and two of them,
Mr. X. and Mr. Y. stated that they had messages
from Mr. Talleyrand, who was desirous that a re-
conciliation should take place, and that they would
suggest plans for that purpose. The substance of
their proposals was, that the Directory, and par-
ticularly two of the members of it, were exceed-

144 THE ADMlNlSTRATIOlS

ingly irritated at some passages of the Presidents
speech of the 16th of May past j that an expla-
nation of some parts and a reparation of others
(which parts were designated) should be made ;
that in lieu of reparation for the speech, the Direc-
tory would accept money ; that is to say, a loan
for the use of the French Republic of 32,000,000
florins (equal to 12,800,000 dollars) and besides
that, a sum of money by way of douceur, for the
pocket of the Directory and ministers, which
might be at the disposal of Mr. Talleyrand, equiva-
lent to 1,200,000 livres or;^50,000 sterling; that
commissioners should be appointed to ascertain the
claims of the United States in like manner as under
our treaty with England, excepting those con-
demned for want of a role d'equipage, which must
be left a subject of negociation ; and that France
should, by a new treaty, be put upon the same
footing as England. It was also stated by the
same gentlemen, and especially byMr. Y. (who is
called a confidential friend of Talleyrand, but who
stated that he had no official character) that the
loan to be made should be executed by the United
States, purchasing from the French Republic at par,
a quantity of stock, bearing 5 per cent, interest,
paid by Holland to France, known by the name of
Dutch rescriptions, and which at market was worth
only lOi". in the pound.

It was also demanded, that our government
should advance to our citizens the amount of indem-
nifications to be paid for illegal captures by France,

OF JOHN ADAMS. 145

tlie said ainotint to be afterwards repaid by France
to our government ; and it was added, that it would
be extremely proper that the amount of indemni-
fications thus paid to our citizens, should again be
by them applied in new supplies to the French
government. This last part seems, however, to
have been dropped by those agents; and on the
30th of October Mr. Y. gave in writing the folio Vv'-
ing propositions :

1st. The American envoys shall rem.ain here
for 6 months, in the same manner and upon the
same footing as did Mr. Aranjo, the envoy of Por-
tusral.

o

2d. There shall be formed a commission of
n members, agreeably to a form to be established,
for the purpose of deciding upon the reclamations
of the Americans, relative to the prizes made on
them by the French privateers.

3d. The American envoys will engage that
their government shall pay the indemnifications, or
the amount of the sums already decreed to the Ame-
rican creditors of the French Republic, and those
which shall be adjudged to the claimants by the
'commissioners -, this payment shall be made under
the name of an advance to the French RepuWic,
who shall repay it in a time and manner to be
agreed on.

4th. One of the American envoys shall return
to America, to demand of his government the ne-
cessary powers to purchase for cash, the 32,000,000
of the Dutch rescriptions belonging to the French
. T

146 THE ADMINlSTRATIOlg

Republic, in case the envoys should conclude a
treaty which shall be approved of by the tv^o na-
tions.

5th. In the mean time the definitive treaty
shall proceed, for the termination of all differences
existing between the French Republic and the
United States, so that the treaty may be concluded
immediately on the return of the deputy.

6th. The question of the role d'equipagc shall
remain suspended until the return of the deputy,
iind the commission shall not pronounce upon any
reclamation when this point shall be in question.

7th. During the 6 months granted for the go-
ing and returning of the deputy, hostilities against
the Americans shall be suspended, as well as the
process for the condemnation before the tribunals,
and the money of the prizes already condemned, in
the hands of the civil officers of the nation, shall re-
main there, without being delivered to the priva-
t'cer-men, until the return of the deputy.

These propositions were to be made by our en-
voys as coming from themselves, and Mr. Talleyrand
w^ould undertake to use his influence with the Di-
rectory to have them adopted. ...but Mr. X. added,
that Mr. Talleyrand would not consent even to lay
the proposition before the Directory without previ-
ously receiving the £.50,000 sterling, or the grea-
er part of it.

They were, however, rejected by our envoys,
who hinted that they would pay the douceur

OF JOHN ADAMS. M7

of X- 50,000 sterling on the ratification of the
treaty.

Mr. Talleyrand, on the 28th of October, offer-
ed to Mr. Gerry for perusal, an arrete of the Direc-
tory, in which they had demanded reparation for
the President's speech ; and added, that he thought
that he could, by money, prevent its effect. ...and
on the 3d of November Mr. Y. shewed the envoys
a copy of a letter, said to be prepared by Mr.
Talleyrand in pursuance of the arrete, which he
said would be sent, unless they came into the
above stated proposition. The envoys said they
did not wish the letter to be delayed 5 but, notwith-
standing, it never was sent. Mr. Y. also argued a
great deal on the immense power of France, the
danger of a war to America, the impending ruin of
England, the certainty of the invasion, the great ad-
vantage of neutrality, and the great number of
friends to France in America, who would throw
the blame of the rupture of the negociation on the
British party.

To all these insinuations the envoys answered
with firmness, still declaring that they had full pow-
ers to make a treaty to restore friendship, but none
to make a war, which would amount to a breach of
neutrality j and they agreed, on the 1st of Novem-
ber, to have no further direct intercourse with the
French government.

On the 17th of December, Mr. Y. made an-
other attempt, saying that six weeks having
elapsed since the rejection of the former proposi-

148 THE ADMINISTRATION

tions, perhaps the envoys had changed their minet^
and he said that Mr. Talleyrand thought, that if
two measures were adopted^ a reconciliation would
follow, to wit : the gratuity of ^.50,000 sterling,
and a purchase of only 16,000,000 Dutch rescrip-
tions at par (equal to 6,400,000 dollars). He stated
that the state of Virginia owed to M. Beaumarchais
^M-5,000 sterling, and he (Beaumarchais) con-
sented to lose ^.45,000 of it, provided he got the
other X. 100,000, and the gratuity of ^.50,000
sterling was given to Talleyrand ; that in this man-
ner the United States would be only ^.5000 ster-
ling out of pocket, as they would get the ^.45,000
from Virginia.... and as to the rescriptions, he said
more than one half of the sum could be borrowed
in Holland on the credit of the rescriotions, and tho*
balance would be demanded only in easy instal-
ments, which midit also be obtained in loan. He
again threatened, in case of non-compliance, and
said that a few frigates from St. Domingo w^ould be
sent to ravage the coasts of the United States.

On the same day Mr. Gerry and Mr. Y. went
to see Mr. Talleyrand ; and Mr. Gerry told Mr.
Talleyrand that Mr. Y. had stated to him that morn-
ing some propositions, as coming from Mr. Talley-
rand, respecting which he could give no opinion.
Mr. Talleyrand said that the information given by
Mr. Y. was just, and might always be relied on ;
but that he would reduce to writing his proposi-
tions, which he did ; and, after having shewn them
to Mr. Gerry, burnt the paper. Mr. Gerrv, on his

OF JOHN ADAMS. 149

return home, reduced them to ^vriting from memo-
ry, as follows :

" France has been serviceable to the United
States, and now they wish to be serviceable to
France -, understanding the French Republic has
16 millions of Dutch rescriptions to sell, the United
States will purchase them at par, and will give her
further assistance when in their power.

" The first arrangement being made, the French
government will take measures for reimbursing the
equitable demands from America, arising from
prizes, and to give free navigation to their ships in
future."

On the 4th of May and the 18th of June, the
President sent two other messages to Congress, re-
lative to fresh communications he had received from
the envoys, respecting a decree passed by the
Councils of France, to capture and condemn all
neutral vessels laden in part or in whole with the
manufactures or productions of England or its pos-
sessions. The envoys had remonstrated against the
injustice of this decree, in a letter to the minister
of Foreign Afiairs in France, dated the 1 7 th of Jan-
uary, but received no satisfactory reply.

Congress w-ere taken up the greater part of
the remainder of this session, which was both the
longest and most important that had yet been held
under the present confederacy, in discussing the
Alien aiid Sedition bills, which met with consider-
able opposition from the most respectable members
in the House of Representatives, The speech of

150 THE ADMINISTRATION

Mr. Livingston, against the Alien bill, was justly
esteemed, and his patriotic exertions on this occa-
sion will ever be remembered.

On Monday, the 16th of July, they adjourned,
after passing the following acts :

1. An act to postpone for a limited time, the
commencement of the duties imposed by the act,
intitled, "An act laying duties on stamped vellum>
parchment and paper.

2. Making certain partial appropriations for
the year 1798.

3. Authorizing the payment of certain sums
of money to the daughters of the late Count de
Grasse.

4. For the relief of the representatives of Wil*
liam Carmichael, deceased.

5. For the relief of North and Vesey, of Charles-
ton, South-Carolina.

6. For allowing a compensation to the door-
keeper of the Senate and his assistant, for their
services during the late session of Congress.

7. For therelief of John Frank.

8. To prescribe the mode of taking evidence
in cases of contested elections for members of the
House of Representatives of the United States,
and to compel the attendance of witnesses.

9. Providing for the payment of the interest on
a certificate due to General Kosciusko.

10. To amend the several acts for laying duties
on spirits distilled within the United States, and on
stills.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 151

11. Supplementary to the act, intitled, " An act
regulating foreign coins, and for other purposes.

12. Directing the Secretary of War to place
certain persons on the pension list.

13. For the relief of WilUam Alexander.

14. Appropriating a certain sum of money to
defray the expence of holding a treaty or treaties
with the Indians.

15. To provide for the v/idows and orphans of
certain deceased officers.

16. For the erection of a light-house, and plac-
ing buoys at the several places therein mentioned.

17. Providing the means of intercourse between
the United States and foreign nations.

18. Making appropriations for the support of
government for the year 1798, and for other pur-
poses.

19. For the relief of Sylvanus Cromwell.

20. To amend the act, intitled, " An act laying
duty on stamped vellum, parchment and paper."

21. Declaring the consent of Congress to an
act of the commonwealth of Massachusetts.

22. Declaring the consent of Congress to an act
(?f the State of Maryland, passed the 28th of De-
cember, 1793, for the appointment of a health of-
ficer.

23. For an additional appropriation to provide
and support a naval armament.

24. To continue in force the 5th section of an
act in addition to the act, intitled, "^ An act to es-
tabhsh the post-ofHce and post-roads of the United
States.''

152 THE ADMINISTRATION

25. To continue in force For a limited time, a
part of an act, intitled, "An act making further
provisldn for securing and collecting the duties on
foreign and domestic distilled spirits, stills, wines
and teas."

26. For the relief of the refugees from the Bri-
tish provinces of Canada and Nova-Scotia.

27. To continue in force the act, intitled, '' An
act prohibiting, for a limited time, the exportation
of arms and ammunition, and for encouraging the
importation thereof.

28. For an amicable settlement of limits with
the State of Georgia, and authorizing the estab-
lishment of a government in the Missisippi terri-
tory.

29. Authorizing an expenditure, and making
an appropriation for the reimbursement of the mo-
nies advanced by the consuls of the United States
in certain cases,

30. Supplem.entary to an act, intitled, " An act
authorizing a loan for the use of the city of Wash-
ington, in the district of Columbia, and for other
purposes therein mentioned."

31. To provide an additional armament for the
further protection of the trade of the United States,
and for other purposes.

32. Making an appropriation for the payment
of a balance found due to the legal representatives
of William Carmichael, deceased.

33. To provide an additional regiment of ar-
tillerists and engineers.

34. For erecting light-houses.

OF JOHN ADAMS, 15'^

35. To establish an executive department, to
be denominated the department of the navy.

36. To authorize certain officers and other per-
sons, to administer oaths.

37. Supplementary to the act providing for the
further defence of the ports and harbours of the
United States.

38. To enable the President of the United States
to procure cannon, arms and ammunition, and for
other purposes,

39. To authorize the President of the United
States to cause to be purchased or built, a number
of small vessels, to be equipped as galiies or other-
wise.

40. For the relief of Obadiah Brov;^n.

41. Directing the payment of a detachment of
militia, for services performed in the year 1794, un-
der Major James Ore.

42. To continue in force a part of an act, re-
specting the compensation to the officers and ma-
riners of the revenue cutters.

43. To revive and continue in force the act re-
specting the compensation of clerks, and for other
purposes.

44. For the relief of William Imlay.

45. For the relief of Joseph Nourse.

46. To amend the act, intitled, '' an act to amend
and repeal in part, the act, intitled, '' An act to as-
certain and fix the military establishment of the
United States."

U

JM THE ADMINISTRATION

47. Authorizing the President of the United
"States to raise a provisional army.*

48. More effectually to protect the commerce
and coasts of the United States.

49. Providing for the relief of persons imprison-
ed for debts due to the United States. f

50. Supplementary to an act, intitled, " An act
for the relief of persons imprisoned for debt.'*

51. Respecting loan-office and final settlement
certificates, indents of interest and the unfunded
or registered debt, credited in the books of the
Treasury.

52. Making appropriations for the military es-
tablishment for the year 1798, and for other pur-
poses.J

* By this act, the President was authorized, in the event of a
declaration of war against the United States, to enhst and call
into actual service, for a term not exceeding three years, an army
often thousand men ; each soldier to receive a bounty of ten dol-
lars, one half on enlisting, and the other half on joining the corp
to which he might belong.

f Any person imprisoned upon execution issuing from any
court of the United States, for a debt due to the same, by this act
may procure his freedom, if he apphes in writing to the Secretary
of the Treasury, stating the circumstances of the case, and his in-
ability to discharge the debt, provided there be proof sufficient
of the truth of the facts stated by the debtor.

X This act allows the sum of 1,41 1,798 dollars for the milita-
ry estabhshn^ent of 1798, to be appropriated as follows :

For the pay of the army of the United States^ 264,824
xioUars : For the subsistence of the officers of the army, 40,661
dollars : For the subsistence of the non-commissioned officers,
247,178 dollars; Forage, 15,816 dollars : Horses for the caval-

OF JOHN ADAMS. IS'S"

53. To suspend the commercial intercourse be-
t'ween the United States and France, and the de-
pendencies thereof

54. Supplementary to, and to amend the act,
intitled, " An act to establish an uniform rule of'
naturalization, and to repeal the act heretofore
passed on that subject.*'

55. To amend the act, intitled, "An act provi-
ding a naval armament,'* and the act, intitled, " An
act to authorize the President of the United States
to cause to be purchased or built a number of small
vessels, to be equipped as galleys or otherwise."

ry, to replace those who may die, 4,500 .dollars : Cloathing"j>
83,050 dollars : Bounties and premiums, 38,000 dollars : Hos-
pital Department, 10,000 dollars : Ordnance Dfp.artment,
4-3,000 dollars : Quarter-Master's Department, 224,000 dollars :
Payment of annuities to the six nations, 14,000 dollars : For the
expences attending the transmission of goods for the above annui-
ties, 9,000 dollars : For promoting civilization, and pay of tern--
porary agents, 15,000 dollars : For ratios to. Indians at the dif-
ferent mihtary posts, 20,000 dollars : For building a grist and'
saw-mill, for the use of the Stockbridge Indians, 3,000 dollars t
For presents to Indians on their visits to the seat of government,
10,000 dollars : For the protection of the frontiers of the Uni-
ted States, 60,000 dollars : For loss of stores^ allowances to oiH--
cers on being ordered to distant commands, &c. 20, coo dollars :
For the annual allowance to the invalids of the United States,
12,06; dollars 7 cents : For the construction and repair of cer-
tain vessels on the lake, 16,700 dollars : For making good a defi-
ciency in the appropriations for the subsistence of the non-com-
missioned officers and privates of the army of the United States,
114,167 dollars : For making good a deficiency in the appropria-
tions for the expcncc of the Quarter-Master and Indian Depart-
ments, 54,694 dollars.

loC THE ADMINISTRATION

56. Supplementary to, andjto amend the act,
intitled, " An act authorizing the President of the
United States to raise a provisional army."

57. To extend the privilege of fr-anking letters
and packets to the Secretary of the Navy.

58. Concerning Aliens.*

59. To authorize a grant of lands to Stephen
Monot, and other inhabitants of Galliopolis, therein '
named.

60. To authorize the defence of the merchant
vessels of the United States, against French depre-
dations.

61. To punish frauds committed on the bank of
the United States.

62. In addition to the act more effectually to
protect the commerce and coasts of the United
States.

63. Making an appropriation for the expences
incident to the new regiments of artillerists and en-
gineers during the year 1798.

64. Supplementary to the act, intitled, "An act
to provide an additional armament for the further
protection of the trade of the United States, and for
other purposes."

* By this act, which was to continue in force until the 2 2d of
June, 1 8oo, it was lawful for the President of the United States
to order all such Aliens as he might judge dangerous, to depart
out of the territory of the United States within a limited time ;
and in case any Ahen, so ordered to depart, should he found at
large within the United States, after the time limited, he was lia-
ble to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years, and
rendered incapable of ever becoming a citizen of the United States.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 157

65. Providing arms for the militia throughout
the United States.

66. Respecting Alien enemies.

67. To declare the treaties heretofore con-
cluded with France, no longer obligatory on the
United States.

68. Further to protect the commerce of the

United States.*

69. Limiting the time within which claims
against the United States, for credit on the books
of the Treasury, may be presented for allowance.

70. To provide for the valuation of landa and
dwelHng houses, and the enumeration of slaves,
within the United States.

71. To augment the army of the United States,
and for other purposes.

72. To enable the President of the United
States to borrow money for the public service.

73. For erecting a light house at Gay-Head,
on Martha's Vineyard, and for other purposes.

74. Authorizing an additional naval armament.

75. For the relief of sick and disabled seamen.

76. For allowing an additional compensation
to the door-keepers and assistant door-keepers of
the Senate and House of Representatives.

77. In further addition to the act, intitled,
" An act to establish the judicial courts of the Uni-
ted States."

* The President was hereby authorized, whenever he should
judge it expedient, to instruct the pubhc armed vessels in the ser-
vice of the United States, to seize any armed French, or pretend-
ed French vessels, found within the jurisdictional limits of the Uni-
ted States, or elsewhere on the high seas.

158 THE ADMINISTRATION

78. To suspend, for a further time, the duties
upon the manufacture of snuff within the United
States, and the drawback upon the exportation
thereof.

79. Making certain appropriations, and to au-
thorize the President to obtain a loan on the credit
of the direct tax-

80. Allowing an additional compensation to-
the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the
House of Representatives, and their Clerks, for
the present session of Congress.

.81. Making certain additional appropriations
for the year 1798.

82. Authorizing the grant and conveyance of a
certain lot or piece of ground to Eii Williams.

83. To alter and amend the several acts for the
establishment and regulation of the Treasury, War
and Navy Departments.

84. To amend the act, intitled, ''An act to sus-
pend the commercial intercourse between the Uni-
ted States and France.

85. An act in addition to the act, intitled, " An
act for the punishment of certain crimes against the
United States." The 1st clause of this act, wiiich
was termed the Sedition Act, ordained, " that if
any person should unlawfully combine or oppose
any measure of the government of the United
States, or intimidate any person holding a place or
office under the same, he shall be deemed guilty of
a high misdemeanor, and on conviction, be pun-
ished by a fine not exceeding 5000 dollars, and im-

OF JOHN ADAMS

159

prisoned during a term not less than six months,
and not exceeding five years."

2d clause expressed, '' that if any person should
write or publish, or cause to be written or publish-
ed, any libel against the government of the United
States, or either House of Congress, or against the
President, he should be punished by a fine not ex-
ceeding two thousand dollars, and by imprison-
ment not exceeding two years/' This act was to
continue in force until the 3d of March, 1801.

160 THE ADxMINISTRATION

CHAPTER VI.

Reflections on the conduct of the President.... DiS'
mission of Mr. Gardner of Nexv-Hampshire.,.,
Spies encouraged. ...Anecdote of the Spy Oram...,
Treatment to General Sumpter of South-Carolina,
at the XezV'Circus, Philadelphia. ...Federal mob
on the 9th of May, 179S... .Dismission cf Dr.
James Reynolds from the Dispensary at PhiladeU
phia.,.. Persecution by the Dunkards.... Federal ad-
dresses...,Vanity of the President.... Remarks of
Mr. Callender on the President's answer to the
NexV'Jersey Militia.,.. Procession of the President
from ^uincy to Boston... Bostonian honors.... Re-,
ception give?i to the President at Fanuiel-Hall.,..
Characters of the Senators and Mejnhers of the
House of Representatives.

1 HE beginning of the year 1798 may not im-
properly be styled the commencement of the reiga
t)f terror in the United States. Previous to the
spring of this year, the image of a republic, and
the mildness of Washington's administration were
preserved w^ith a decent reverence. The unfortu-
nate alien had not to dread a dungeon more horri-
ble than that which he escaped, nor was the pen oC
the lips of the patriot compelled to submit tc?
the rigid forms of a sedition law. The wavering-
intellect of Mr. Adams had only now assumed the
consistency of a tyrant. Although he might have
long aspired at sovereign power, his administration

OF JOHN ADAMS. 161

was unstained with acts of cruelty. He had not,
previous to this period, calumniated virtue, pun-
ished merit, rewarded vice, and given a poignancy
to the rage of contending parties. A\'hatever his
intentions might formerly have been, his conscience
and not the world witnessed their criminality.

William Gardner, commissioner of loans for
New-Hampshire, a man of honor and integrity,
was one of the first whom he deprived of the mean^s
of supporting a numerous family, on account of
his political principles. This gentleman had in De-
cember, 1790, accepted the above office. ...he was
then treasurer of New-Hampshire, a place worth
about a thousand dollars per annum. ...his situa-
tion as commissioner amounted only to six hundred
and fifty. ...he did not solicit his new office.. ..he was
urged to accept of it by an assurance that Congress
would augment the salary. ...as they did not, Mr.
Gardner signified his intention to resign within
eighteen months after his acceptance. Mr. Hamil-
ton, then Secretary of the Treasury, sent him a let-
ter in answer, dated the 14th of June, 1792. In
this letter, Mr. Hamilton expresses the warmest
approbation of Mr. Gardner's services, and regrets
that they had not been adequately rewarded. ...he
solicited him to continue his situation, with. the
assurance that his salary would be enlarged. Mr. ..
Gardner received two other letters in the same '•'
style from Mr. Hamilton, and two from- his succes- /
sor, Mr. Wolcott....of these, the last is dated so
late as February Gth^ 1797. In summer, 1798, he

X

IG'2 THE AD.VnNiSTRATIOW

was tinned out, for refusing to subscribe an address
to the President which was circulated at Ports-
mouth, in New-Hampshire, couched in the most
fulsome style, and breathing only slander and ser-
vile bombast.

The same sys1:em of persecution was hnmedi-
ately extended 'all over the continent. Every per-
son holding an office was obliged to resign, or adore
Mr. Adams as the Augustus of the new world....
a catalogue of their expulsions would fill a pam-
phlet. Spies were emiployed to report to the Ex-
ecutive every action and every word which reflect-
ed upon the President or his servants. No public
company w^asfree from these hired slaves of tyran-^
ny.... the tables of the virtuous were besieged by"
their sycophancy and betrayed by their hypocrisy.
One of them, by name Oram, had even the audacity
to introduce himself into a hotel where the Vice-
President lodged. The mind of Mr. Jefferson is
above suspicion or disguise.... his conversations on
philosophy and politics were carried to the Inqui-
sition at Braintree, there new modelled, and after-
wards handed to Abercromby, Linn and Mason,
by whom they were trumpeted forth to the world.
Mr. Adams had resolved to reward the villain by
making him a captain of artillery, but the depraved
part of the Senate were ashamed of his character,
and the project was relinquished.

The Emperors of Rome, in the height of their
powder, received from their humble subjects not
more servile marks of submission than were paid

OF JOH>; ADAMS. 165

to President Adams by the federal faction. The
republican who had firmness enough of mind to
know his own importance, was always insulted,
and often in hazard of his life from this host of
aristocracy. In the summer of 1798, General Sump-
ter, of South Carolina, v/as unwarrantably abused
at the new Circus, in Market-street, Philadelphia,
because he did not pull off his hat, kiss the ground
and clap his hands when John Adams entered the
place. The General sat in one of the front rows
when a rumour spread that the President was com-
ing in.... the spectators were rising from their seats^-
hurrying off their hats and commencing to clap,
when one Fitzhuo:h called out in a loud voice,
asking why the General did not clap f A second
rumour arose, and a second demand for clapping
was made upon the venerable veteran. ...at the same
time Fitzhugh attempted to seize his hands and
force him to give applause. General Sumpter re-
presented there was no mutual acquaintance to
justify such freedoms, that he was a stranger to
the gentleman, and asked if thQ latter knew who
he was? " Oh damn you, we knovv^ you and all
your party," replied the tory ; " I hope in six months
time to see you all banished from the country j'*
then turning to the spy Oram, he went on thus :
^' does not Dayton keep these fellows in excellent
order," alluding to the ruffian insolence of this
man when Speaker of the House of Representa-
tives. The second rumour of the approach of the
President proved also groundless. At lastj how-

161' THE ADMINISTRATION

ever, Iiis Majesty did appear. Fitzhugh then at-
tempted to snatch oh" General Sumpter's hat, ask-
ing why, like the rest of the company, he did not
uncover? The General found out his name, and
called for him next morning at his lodgings ; but
Fitzhugh was gone.

The ninth day of May, 1798, w^hich was ap-
pointed by the State of Pennsylvania as a day of
fast and of worship to the creator, w^as designed by
the federal faction as a day of massacre and blood-
shed : they and the clergy had fixed upon it as the
most proper for commencing their political perse-
cution. A well known clerical aristocrat, of Christ's
Church, Philadelphia, was to give the signal of
riot from the pulpit, by a thundering declamation,
against philosophers and jacobins,' free-masons and
illuminati. Bache, the printer, whose family and
house were doomed for destruction, heard, by ac-
cident, of his danger... .he applied to Hilary Baker,
then mayor of the city, for protection, but the
mayor was in league with the conspirators, and
protection was refused. Eache, as his only means
of defence, collected and armed all his friends,
and the other republican house-holders did the
same. The aristocrats, seeins: these preparations,
desisted from their plan, but like cowardly assassins,
they filled the streets w^th noise and alarm, broke
several windows, knocked dowm the lamp-posts,
bedaubed the statue of the venerable Franklin
with mud, and defiled the entrance to every pub-
lic building with crow^ns and ensigns of royalty.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 165

When the hour of twelve at night was struck, the
Coffee-House, in South-Second-streetj which is
kept by an old servant of the .Ambassador Liston,
was immediately crowded with Adamites, w^ho stun-
ned the ears of the neighborhood until sun-rise next
morning with " God save the King,'* and " Rule
Britannia." The history of this ni^ht has never
been completely told. Mr. Callender affirms, that
a large quantity of arms were lodged in a house near
the Hall of Congress, from whence muskets and
balls were to have been distributed to the federal
mob. Happily, however, by the exertions of the
republican inhabitants, the storm blew over, and
Philadelphia did not witness, as w^as intended, the
scenes of Paris on the 10th of August and 2d of
September, 1792.

I'he spirit of party even extended itself to
charitable institutions. The Dispensary at Philadel-
phia was then conducted by six physicians, who
gave attendance gratis. One of these was Dr.
James Reynolds, of Ireland, a gentleman who was
obliged to abandon his native country on account of
his attachm.ent to political liberty. The managers
of the Dispensary, in place of thanking him for the
acceptance of a trust by which he could gain no-
thing, took offence at his attendance, and gave him
notice that his services were not acceptable. The
other five physicians wrote a letter to the managers,
representing, that they could never admit the in-
troduction of such a principle for dismission. ...the
board treated their letter with contempt, and re-

106 THE ADMINISTRATION

turned it back with a note wrote on the cover, that
'' the contents wxre of a nature improper to be con-
sidered/' The physicians immediately gave in their
resignation, adding, that they would continue their
attendance until successors could be appointed.
The managers sent them another letter, and, with-
out thanking them for the latter part of their com-
munication, accepted of their proposal to resign.

In this same summer, (1798) a German, living-
in Maryland, wrote an account of himself in a letter
to Philadelphia. He had been reduced, in his own
country, from opulence to v/ant, by his attach-
ment to the French revolution. He indented him-
self and his family with the captain of a vessel
bound for Maryland ; the captain could not sell
the man, and gave him liberty to shift for his
support. The German was engaged by 'some
Dunkards to teach a school ; after a considerable
time, his employers came to learn his political his-
tory. At the period of his writing this letter, they
had resolved to turn him loose on the world in re-
venge for his political tenets : what became of him
afterw^ardsis not known.

During these scenes of tyranny, which w^ere
daily exhibited in the streets of Philadelphia, Balti*
more and New- York, the federal papers through-
out the union were filled with addresses to the
President, complimenting him upon the mildness,
justice, and impartiality of his administration ; his
attachment to liberty and his benevolence to for-
eigners. Pickering, Listen and the British mer-

GF JOHN ADAMSi. 167

chants, were the most active instruments in procur-
ing these epistles of royal jargon.

Every town and village which did not honor the
President with their approbation, were supposed
to be under the influence of some jacobin. The
province of Maine, where General Dearborn, the
present Secretary of V/ar resides, was ranked in
the number ; and the whole odium thrown upon
this patriotic officer. Mr. Pickering is said to have
wrote to him a letter, requesting him to use his
influence with the inhabitants to address the Pre-
sident ; informing him at the same time, that
Mr. Adams entertained the highest opinion of hi;i
friendship, and that this act would still farther
strengthen that sentiment. General Dearborn,
with that candid integrity which marks his charac-
ter, returned an answer, informing the Secretary of
State, that whatever his private sentiments might
be, he had taken no part in preventing the inhabit-
ants to address the President, nor would he use
his exertions to promote an address, however agree-
able it might be to Mr. Adams, unless he saw a
change of measures from those which were carry-
ing on. Mr. Pickering wrote a second and a third
letter to the same purpose, but received no an-
swer.

An address from New-York was presented,
containing four thousand signatures, but three
thousand of the names W'ere those of English mer-
chants, their clerks and servants, who had not re-
sided above a few v ears in the State ; several in-

168 THE ADMINISTRATION

stances were even known of merchants compelling
their clerks to sign more than once under difTerent
signatures.

One of these addresses will be a sufficient spe-
cimen of the fulsome flattery which was made use
of: It is the production of a society of merchants
at Boston .

*' To John Adams, Esq. President oj the United
" States of America.

" We the subscribers, inhabitants and citizens
of Boston, in the State of Massachusetts, deeply
impressed with the alarm.ing situation of our coun-
try, and convinced of the necessity of uniting with
firmness at this interesting crisis, beg leave to ex-
press to you, the chief magistrate and supreme ru-
ler over the United States, our fullest approbation
of all the measures, external and internal, you have
pleased to adopt under direction of the divine au-
thority, for settling and accommodating all existing
differences, upon terms compatible with the safety,;^
the interest and the dignity 6f the United States.

" We beg leave also to express the high and ele-
vated opinion we entertain of your talents, your
virtue, your wisdom and your prudence y and
our fixed resolution to support, at the risk of our
lives and fortunes, such measures as you may de-.
termine upon to be necessary for promoting and
securing the honor and happiness of America 3 nor
can we omit, upon such an occasion, to declare to
the world, that we are nothumihated under a co-
lonial sense of fear, that we are not a divided peo-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 169

pie, but that we know the duty we ov/e to the Pre-
sident of our country, and are determined to sup-
port him.

''Boston, 1st May, 1798."
The childish vanity Mr. Adams displayed up-
on receiving these addresses, gave surprise to those
who even had the best opportunity of being ac-
quainted with his weaknesses. They usually form-
ed part of his table equipage, as regularly as a
newspaper, or a dish of coffee.... a file of five hxin-
dred of them, suspended i^ the front of his library,
served him as a political dictionary for civil, na-
val and military appointments, on all occasions.
None whose name was not found entered in this sa-
cred register, could claim any pretensions to the fa-
vor of Air. Adams. The magistrate, the soldier
and the sailor, equally owed their birth to this bun-
dle of federal parchment, which is now preserved
in the palace of Braintree, and which will \ransmit
to posterity the political state of America at the
close of the eighteenth. century.

, Those addresses which were not couched In the
^ost submlssi^i^iterms were treated with the great-
est contempt. One of this nature was transmitted
in June, 1798, by some officers and soldiers of the
Jersey ir^iitia. They said that they did not acr
knowledge an implicit approbation of the conduct
of Mr. Adams ; they declared their disbelief " that
the administration of our government had in all
cases been absolutely perfect !" they explained their
aversion to an English alliance and a French war ^

Y ^

170 THE ADMINISTRATION

Ihey ascribed the calamitous situation of the United
States to the influence of interested commercial
characters, and of the internal faction that had for-
merly resisted the American Revolution -, they
Warned Mr. Adams to beware of surrounding flat-
terers, and of men who panted to speculate in the
spoils of war. Mr. Adams returned them an an-
swer, censuring them in the severest terms for
presuming to call a government of their own choice
a party, and for asserting, or even supposing, that
he caressed those characters who were the worst
enemies of America.

On this answer, Mr. Callender, with his usual
acuteness, makes the following severe, though just
remarks : " Under the general phrase of govern-
ment, Mr. Adams here attempts to confound the
constitution and its officers. These are two mat-
ters entirely distinct ; as such they shall be sepa-
rately discussed. I begin with the form of gov-
ernm.ent ; that is, the present federal constitution.

" This system was, after a violent struggle,
adopted by a majority of the pe^|ftk....one reason
or conceit, which led them to this measure, was,
lest the United States should be invaded and par-
titioned by some foreign power. For the last ten
years our public transactions have often originated
in false alarms, operating on the public mind like as
many shocks of electricity.. ..at one time Genet was
to overturn the government ; when that bugbear
vanished, the Western niob, so carefully fostered
into consequence by Hamilton, was to cover the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 171

continent with carnage and desolation. The third
annual panic arose in July, 1795, on the publica-
tion of Jay's treaty ; by democratical demonstra-
tion, the whole shipping of America was, in two
years at farthest, to be annihilated. Nine months
after, we found out that this very bargain was the
best imaginable, and that nothing but an immedi-
ate acceptance of it could save our foreign com-
merce from extinction. This was in 1796. The
periodical tremor of 1797, began by the recal of
Adet from Philadelphia, the rejection ofPinckney
at Paris, the torrent of French piracy that burst up-
on our navigation, and our consciousness of having,
in some measure, deserved the vengeance of the
Republic. Men of sense recollected the imper-
tinence of our Presidential speeches regarding
France, the brutality of newspapers hired by Bri-
tish ambassadors, and patronized by the federal
party, and above all, the ever infamous desertion of
our allies and benefactors, consummated by Jay's
treaty. In 1798, America did, for once, ass.ume an
appearance of i;esolution. To meet the approach-
ing war, CdSgress voted for preparations to the
amount of about fourteen millions and six hundred
thousand dollars ; and after all this additional vor-
tex of debt, we discovered that the last annual
alarm has been equally false with each of its pre-
decessors. The French were provoked to plunder,
but they have hitherto refused to fight.

" I now return to the tremor of 1787, by which
the " government of your own choice," viz. the

173 THE ADMINISTRATION

federal constitution, was crammed down the gullet
of America. I'be first grand argument for adop-
tion was the danger existing from external conquest.
This could only be attempted upon three quar-
ters : First, by the English, a people whom the
Americans had just before beaten, and who, during
that very period, were successively on the brink of
war with France, Holland and Russia. Second,
France might possibly have invaded this country ;
but her exchequer was bankrupt, and she was of
course incapable of fighting, . Third, Spain could
have disturbed the United States, but her councils
are always pacific. For the last hundred and
fifty years, her vigor has been broken, and she has
never once gone to war, but Vv^hen kicked into it
Ly the ambition of France or England. In short,
at the time in question, the powers of Europe were
occupied in plotting the destruction of each other ^
they had no leisure of thinking of America. Pat-
rick Henry and his friends, in the convention oi
Virginia, could not force Mr. Madison's majority
to comprehend this very plain fact. The dread of for-
eign conquest was, in 1787, as ridictll'ous as that of
witchcraft, for which Mr. Burroughs, once a parson
of Salem, was hung by the Saints of the last cen-
tury."

Mr. Callender urges, in ridicule, a num.ber of
other arguments America had for framing a new
constitution :

1st. Rhode-Island (says he) refused to pay
her share of the expence of the ^var or of taxes to
discharge it.

OF jOlIiT ADAMS. 173

2d. Tlie advantnges that Congress would pos-
sess over individual States, in framing commercial
treaties v\^irh foreign nations.

Mr. Callender admits that this motion was a
plausible one, and the principal cause of the forma-
tion of the constitution.

3d. In order to pay the debts of the United
States, which the Congress under the old confede-
ration could not pay.

On January 1st, 1790, the domestic and for-
eign debt of the United States amounted, col-
lectively, to fifty -four millions, three hundred und
sixty-two thousand dollars. The domestic debt
had been a great source of gambling to tlie mem-
bers of Congress ; with a view, therefore, to con-
ceal their infamous traffic, they comprehended in
the same statute a mass of debt due by individual
States. With the same justice they might have in-
cluded all the debts v/nichare reciprocally due be-
tween private citizens 3 the one measure would
have been as regular as the other. To assist them-
selves in supporting this assumption of State debts,
they authorized, on the 4th of August, 1794, a loan
of twenty-orte millions, five hundred thousand dol-
lars. The certificates of debts due by individual
States, and v/hich had been issued by them as pledg-
es to ther private creditors, were, under certain re-
strictions, to be received at the Federal Treasury
as current cash, in part of the loan. Thus the Fede-
ral Treasury was to reimburse itself by recourse up-
on the individual states, for payment of these cer-

174 THE ADMINISTRATION

tificates. The young government, therefore, was
fjoon involved in a labyrinth of debt, which so far
from decreasing, would, if the measures of the late
administration had been pursued, accumulated to a
sum our revenues never would have been adequate
to defray.

" Wherefore,'* says Mr. Callender,. *^ the prin-
cipal inducements to accept of the constitution of
your own choice are proved by common sense or
experience, to have been absolutely chimerical, and
nothing better than hobby-horses.

" In contradiction to what Mr. Adams affirms
in his answer, it is established, that the present gov-
ernment, both in its origin and progress,, has been,,
in every shape and sense, the government of a party ;;
and of a party that is, in many respects, very worth-
less. In opposition to the merit assumed by the
President, as a promoter of domestic peace, it is
established, that his measures multiply domestic
discord ; and that the scandalous newspapers print-
ed under his influence, are so many trumpets sound-
ing to the charge of civil war. In addition to his
inflammatory aspersions regarding French tribute,
it is proved, that the United States are tributary to
the Indians,tothe Algerines and to the English."

Mr. Adams expressed himself in the same man-
ner to an address from the Bostonians of the 7th of
August, 1797, i^s he did to the New- Jersey militia.

" The idea," says he, ''of separating the people
from a government of their own choice, can origi-
nate with none but enemies of republican govern-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 175

ments. Such a project, were it practicable, would
be a demonstration, that the people are not capa-
ble of such a government ; and by a sudden in-
troduction of wasting calamities, would soon con-
vince the people themselves of the necessity of in-
stituting another form for their own security and
protection. The decided reprobation of such ne-
farious designs by the citizens of Boston and its vi-
cinity, will have a great effect in defeating them/'

The Bostonians may justly be considered to
have been the Preetorian guards of John Adams,
The homage of flattery which was first paid him by
these citizens, was at length converted into a so-
lemn protestation of fidelity. Whenever he enter-
ed their town, a numerous cavalcade composed of
horsemen and foot, of women and children, were
accustomed to collect round his person ; to address
him rather as the sovereign of the world than the
•President of the United States, and to adore him as
a divinity and not as a man. His procession from
Quincy, on the 17th of August, 1797, and the
pompous parade displayed on this occasion, will
long be remembered as a specimen of the ostenta-
tious dignity he was pleased toaffect, and of the hon-
ors which the folly of his countrymen allowed him.
Perhaps the monarch of France never visited Ver-
sailles in greater state than Mr. Adams did Bosto^a
that day.

At an early hour in the morning, a corps of cav-
alry, commanded by Captain Am.ory, marched
to Quincy, and paraded before his door. From

176 THE ADMINISTRATION

thence the President was escorted to the seat ofhis
Excellency, the Governor, at Roxbury....a troop of
girls dressed in white w*alked before him, and
strewed the road with flowers and leaves of laurel.
The citizens of Qaincy led up the rear, bearing
the American Flag, the Portrait of John Adams, and
the Ensigns of Liberty. This numerous cavalcade
was m.et on the road from Milton, and joined by the
officers of the Boston regiment, in uniform, as also
by a motley group ofBostonians, some in carriages,
some on horseback, and others on foot, who were
hurrying to pay their respects to the President. The
increased multitude continued their rout to town,
at the entrance of which they were welcomed by
a federal salute from Captain Bradlee*s artillery^
At the ancient fortification they were reinforced by
cadets, by artillery and by infantry, ail commanded
by devoted subjects to royalty. The line of march
then continued to the centre of the city, amidst the
welcoming huzzas of crow^ds of sycophants, and the
smiles of bevies of ladies, who adorned the windows
and displayed their charms to attract the fancy
of the President. Having arrived at the Old
South, Air. Adams alighted, passed his escort in
review, displayed his person for a fev/ minutes to
the admiring spectators, by walking on the balco-
ny of the old State-PIouse, from whence he pro-
ceeded to the Senate chamber, where a procession
was formed of the principal Officers of State, the
Senators of State, the Judges, and the Members
of the House of Representatives, v/ho conducted

OF JOHN ADAMSo 177

their Sovereign to partake of the pleasures which
were prepared for his reception at Fanuiel Hall.

This apartment was decorated throughout with
trees and evergreen. At the bottom of the stairs,
an arch properly supported, exhibited the Federal
Constellation. At the head of the first flight, was
the bust of *^ a patriot," irradiated in glory, motto^
^' The lustre of his Actions burns with triumphant
brightness and spreads a glory round him." Over
him an obelisk topped with the Omniscient Eye,
motto, Fidcles protego ; descending from which a
Chertib extended a Garter, motto, sic Her ad as-
tra, presented the Palm and the LaurtU and of-
fered them as Premium Virtutis. The second
flight exposed to view an Urn bearing these words,
** To the memory of those brave men who have fal-
len in the cause of Liberty," and a Pedestal with hie
manes ob patrium pugna?ido vulnera passi. At the
entrance of the hall. Liberty in all her charms and
emblems, held a scroll, seeming to breath its wish,
** Liberty, Peace and Happiness to all mankigd.*'
A festooned orchestra formed the entrance to the
room, which was hung round with tapestry the
most splendid which the States of New-England
ever beheld. The decorations of columns, ribbons,
wreaths and festoons were variously suspended and
grouped to please the fancy of the eye and attract the
crowd of flatterers whom Mr. Adams was to honor
with his presence. Over his seat, which wasele vated
in the form of a throne, the arms of the United States
were seen supporting a portrait of himself, to which

Z

378 THE ADMINISTRATION

was affixed a satin curtain, and the following lines
^aid to be the production of the Poet Trumbull : •

■«* First Advocate of Independence' cause ;

First to defend Columbia's balanced laws ;

First to oppose when Anarch's sons assail,

A conscious, grateful people bid thee hail."

Such was the pomp and parade that usually
took place whenever Mr. Adams was pleased to
compliment the inhabitants of Boston with a court-
ly visit. A striking specimen of the genius and
character of these people, who affect to hold in
contempt the innocent and sprightly levity of the
citizens in the Southern States.

It may be interesting to know how the Alien
act, that powerful engine of tyranny which Mr.
Adams so successfully wielded, was passed into a
law. I shall, therefore, give an account of the pro-
portion of votes from each State in favor of the
bill and against it.

This act originated in the Senate of Congress,
where it was read, for the first time, upon June 8,
1198. Humphrey Marshal, the^poet, proposed an
amendment of the second clause of the first sec-
tion....it was in these words : " which order shall
also express the cause of removal.*' Although noth-
ing could be more reasonable than this amend-
ment, it was rejected by seventeen votes against
six.

The votes were fifteen against eight on the
passing of the bill. They stood thus :

OF JOHN ADAMS. 179

In favor of the Bill.

\ New-Hampshire, l ; Massachusetts, 1 ; Rhode*

>sland, 1 ', Connecticut, 2 ; Vermont, 2 ; New-

S^ork, 2 j New-Jersey, 1 ; Pennsylvania, 1 ; De-

?faware, 2; Maryland, 1 ; South-Carolina, 1.— To^

t^al 15.

) A'gaijist the Bill

] Virginia, 2 ; North-CaroHna, I -, Kentucky, 2 ;.
'i^ennessee, 2 ; Georgia, 1. — ^Total 8.

; It passed in the House of Representatives on the
2tst of June, 1798, by forty-six votes against forty^
Nineteen members v/ere absent.
\ For the Bill

Wew-Hampshire, 3 ; Massachusetts, 1 1 ; Rhode-
Islai^d, 2 ; Connecticut, 7 ^ Vermont, 1 ; New-
Yorlb^ 5 ; New-Jersey,. 4 -, Pennsylvania, 4 ; Del-
aware\^ i ; Maryland, 4 ; Virginia, 1 5 North-Ca-
rolinay ] ; South-Carolina, 2. — Total 46.
Against the BilL
Massachusetts, 1 ; Vermont, 1 ; New-York, 2 ;,
Pennsylvania, 6 ; Maryland, 3 ; Virginia, 11;
Kentucky, 2 ; North-Carolina, 8 ; Tenessee, 1 >
South-Carolina, 3 > Georgia, 2.~^Total 40.

From whence it appears evident, that the pass-
ing of the Alien act was entirely owing to the New-
England faction. Not one Senator from these States,
voted against it, and only one Representative out of
twenty-four who were present. On the contrary,
eleven members from Virginia out of twelve who at-
tended the House, exerted every effort to oppose

ISa THE ADMINISTRATION

the bill. In the Senate, there were 14 members
to the north of the river Potowmac, every one
of whom supported it. Of the nine members ta
the south of that river, two voted for it and sevem
against it. /

John Langdon, Senator from New-Hampshirej.
was absent at the passing of the bill. This is
one of the few honest men whom New-England
has sent to Congress. During the revolution hia
services were conspicuous ; a firm adherence to
republicanism has been a constant and uniform
trait in his character ever since. But Mr. Lang-
don, like most other virtuous men, had the mis-
fortune to incur the displeasure of Mr. Adams.
The following letter which this Senator wrote to
Samuel Ringold, of New- Hampshire, previous to
the election of Mr. Jefferson, unfolds sufficiently
his own principles as well as those of the Presi-
dent. It is one of those precious morsels oi politi-
cal information which deserves a place in every
publication intended to record the vices and views
of the late administration.

" Portsmouth, October 10, 1800»
"Dear Sir,

" Your agreeable favor of the 4th instant has this
moment come to hand ; I am greatly rejoiced to
see gentlemen of property and influence coming
forward at this eventful moment in the common
cause of our country ; I have no doubt we shall
yet be saved.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 181

" lam now packing my baggage, shall set out
in the stage to-morrow morning for the city of
Washington 5 hope to be in Baltimore the begin-
ning of next month , this prevents me answering
your letter so fully as I could wish, having only
one moment to spare.

" In the conversation held between Mr. Adams,
Mr. Taylor and myself, Mr. Adams certainly ex-
pressed himself (as far as my mem.ory serves me)
in the very words mentioned in your letter, viz.
that he hoped, or expected to see the day when
Mr. Taylor, and his friend Mr. Giles, would be
convinced that the people of America would not
be happy without an hereditary Chief Magistrate
and Senate, or at least for life.

" Believe me sincerely,
" Your obedient servant,
"JOHNLANGDON.

^* Samuel Ringold.''

It may be remembered that Mr. Callender re-
quested time might be granted him to serve a sub-
poena on Mr. Langdon, as also on several others,
whose evidence he believed would sufficiently
prove the most material of his charges against Mr.
Adams. But this necessary postponement, which
would have shewn the President in his proper
colours, was peremptorily refused by the Federal
Court. This circumstance, and the conduct of
Judge Chase on that occasion, shall be more par-
ticularly investigated when we come to narrate the
trial of Mr. CaJlender.

182 THE ADMINISTRATION

Mr. Langdon, to his other virtues, adds that
of a charitable and generous mind.. ..few of his
countrymen possess this virtue in an equal degree.
Inattentive to the spirit of party and political in-
trigue, his principal study and greatest ambition
are to reward industry and obtain the applause of
good men. On all occasions he has stood forth and
exerted himself in the cause of the distressed and
injured citizen. In short, which ever way we
view Mr. Langdon, we find him fertile in every
great and good qualification.

Leaving Mr. Langdon, we enter a barren waste
when we venture to explore the characters of the
other Senators from New-England.

Theodore Sedgwick, of Massachusetts, and
James Hillhouse, of Connecticut, were the prin-
cipal authors of the Alien and Sedition Acts ; they
also voted for Hamilton's plan of funding the do-
mestic debt. A transaction more detestable than
this scheme can hardly be conceived, when it is
known that both these men had made considerable
purchases in the certificates of the old army.

Foster, of Rhode-Island, is one of the weak-
est men in the United States. He voted, if we
may believe his friends, for the plans of the Pre-
sident, without comprehending their tendency of'
import. His constituents, wdio sent him to Con-
gress, and who were acquainted with the narrow
extent of his talents, ought only to be censured.

Elijah Paine, from Vermont, presents a char-
acter of a different complexion. He displays on

OF JOHN ADAMS. 183

every occasion, a natural fierceness which it is im-
possible to temper or disguise. Though a stranger
to real wisdom, he is possessed both of selfish cun-
ning and a talent for intrio^ue. He can threaten err
cringe to his opponents as circumstances require ;
but in general, his behavior borders on rudeness,
and his oratory is savage in the extreme.

Uriah Tracey may be regarded as the Burke of
Connecticut. Though neither possessed of the
talents, the erudition, or the splendid eloquence
of that British Senator, he rivals him in anti-jaco-
bin abuse and vindictive declamation against the
French nation. He would wade up to the knees
in blood to extirpate the republicans of France,
He has declared in Congress, that if he had his
wish, he would arm every man, woman and child
in America against every man, woman and child
in France. These were not words uttered in the
heat of passion, in the unthinking moment of
pleasure, or over the intoxicating fumes of Brain-
tree claret ; they were pronounced in a solemn ex-
hortation to the Senators of the United States, and
accurately recorded by Mr. Lloyd, the Steno-
grapher, who was present.

Mr. Bingham, of Philadelphia, Senator for Penn-
sylvania, is a merchant of immense property, a
high-flying Federalist, and devoted to the British
interest. He is ambitious of being thought a man
of science and a lover of the arts, but no man has
less claim to these pretensions than Mr. Bingham.
The ability of reading his own language, and of di-

18^ THE ADMINISTRATION

rectingthe clerks of his counting-house, constitutes
his whole stock of learning. Although the virtues
of honesty and a generous heart are not the most
conspicuous traits in his character, yet he was the
friend of Mr. Adams and companion to the am-
bassador Liston.

The charges which have been adduced against
James Ross, the colleague of Mr. Bingham, are
too num.erous to admit of insertion in their full
extent. I shall only briefly specify those, the truth
of which even his friends are compelled to allow.

This Senator voted, in the convention of Penn-
sylvania, on the 2d of February, to strikeout of the
constitutional regulations about holding offices, the
words *' who acknowledges the being of a God,
and a future state of rewards and punishments.

He staid away from the Senate without any
cause for nineteen weeks and four days, so that
Pennsylvania, which had only two votes in the
Senate, w^as left with no more than one vote in that
body. (Journal of the Senate, January 8, April 26,
and July, 1798.) By this means he escaped the
odium of voting for the Alien and Sedition bills.

Mr. Ross voted for the British treaty ; for in-
creasing the salaries of the officers of government
when the people were groaning under the weight
of new taxes ; he voted also for a standing army.

At the table of Messrs. Hollines and Rainey,
merchants, at Philadelphia, when " The Consti-
tution of the United States" was given as a toast,
he left the room.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 1B5

Mr. Ross has been proved to be a Deist. ...see a
letter from Mr. Jones, late chaplain to General
Wayne, inserted in the Aurora, 1st October, 1797.

General Lloyd, of Maryland, is the last of the
Federal Senators I shall at present remark. This
man, in the year 1799, entered into a contract with
the Secretary of the Navy to furnish staves to the
lamount of 1500 dollars ; he received the money in
hand and encrasred to send the staves as soon as he
got home. A twelvemonth elapsed and no staves
came to hand s upon enquiry being made, it was
discovered that General Lloyd possessed no wood
fit for that purpose. The money was never return-
ed, but the honest general was compelled, by the
present administration, to give a bond for the sum,
bearing interest.

The Senators who opposed the bills were char-
acters very different. Mr. Henry Tazewell, and
General Mason, of Virginia, were of this party.
I cannot represent these men in juster terms than
Mr. Callender has done. *^ Mr. Henry Tazewell,''
says this VvTiter, " was too honest to be purchased,
and too firm to be bullied; too watchful to be sur-
prised, and too shrewd to be deceived. This gen-
tleman was long an effective antagonist to the
stratagems of Senatorial deceit, and the brutality
of Senatorial despotism."

" With an happy temper, an invulnerable char-
acter, an independent fortune and an amiable fa-
mily ; with every physical and moral circumstance
about him which can provoke the envy, or chal-

Aa

186 THE ADMINISTRATION

lenge the esteem of mankind. General Mason has
presented an object of calumny for a set of mis-
creants whom his good sense obliges him to de-.
spise, but whom his good nature will hardly suffer
him to detest. Without parade or effort, his pa-
triotism flowsj like a natural fountain, from the
sweetness and rectitude of the primitive elements
of his mind. Had the majority of the Senate voted
and acted like General Mason, this country, to
borrow the language of Demosthenes, might have
escaped from an Iliad of misfortunes''

Of the twenty-six Representatives from New-
England,onIy three made a figure, or even were heard
of during the revolution. These were General Shep-
ard, General Varnum and General Skinner. General
Varnum was the only member who voted against the
Alien bill. General Skinner was not present, or
most probably he would have acted with the same
patriotism. As for General Shepard, who voted
for it, his best friends allow his only merit consists^
in that species of personal courage which fits the
mercenary assassin, but becomes not the republican
soldier.. ..Shepard could fight with the same cou-
rage in the cause of despotism as in that of liberty.
Strong in body but weak in intellect, he only ap-
preciates those qualities which characterize the
barbarian ; while he Iwlds in ridicule the more £:en-
erous virtues which adorn the mind and enlarge
the understanding of the civilized patriot. In short,
nature could not, without difficulty, produce a be-
ing more ignorant and wretched in point of -rea-
soning, than this New-England General.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 1§.T

Mr. Samuel Sewall^ of Massachusetts, was con-
sidered a tory during the revolution. He figured
in the Bankrupt list, and has therefore little to
fear from the worst misfortunes that can befal his
country. When he attempts to speak, his inso-
lence and virulence of expression are unequalled
by the billingsgate of the lowest miscreant who
bawls at Westminster for royal favor. But his char-
acter being known, his efforts are disregarded, and
his inflammatory jargon suffers a merited contempt.

Dwight Foster, member from the same State,
was also a torv. This man beino^ conscious of his
own weakness, seldom speaks but when he lisps
an unmeaning sentiment in honor of John Adams
at some federal hall of riotous debauch. Sloth and
indolence, or a game at cards, are his favorite
amusements. His hatred to the French is report-
ed principally to proceed from the lively sentiment
in discourse which distinguishes that nation, and
which by no means accords with the phlegmatic
humor of Mr. Foster.

John Allen, of Connecticut, is as remarkable
for the uncouth and vuio:ar extrava^cance of his ex-
pressions, as he is for his tall hectic appearance
He has declared in a public assembly, that the fe-
deral constitution was not worth a damn, and that
he would be glad to give it a kick. He gave up
his seat in Congress for the sake of being chosen
into the Assembly of Connecticut ; but his behav-
ior, when a Representative, disgusted even the
federalists, and he was overpowered by a repul>

188 THE ADMINISTRATION

Jican candidate, which circumstance, it is said,
had such an effect upon his nerves, as almost to de-
prive him of the weak and tender capacity of rea-
soning which he formerly possessed.

Mr. George Thatcher, member also from Mas-
sachusetts, when in the third Congress was almost
never known to open his lips. At that time he
supported the character of a reasonable man ; but
observing that silence was not the way of gaining
the favor of the President and advancing in the list
of preferment, he studied for a whole summer the
art of anti-jacobin declamation with such success,
that he delivered in the Congress after, a thunder-
ing speech, intending to prove that Barras was
either mad or drunk, vv^hen he made his farewell
address to Mr. Monroe. His friends were astonish-
ed at his powers, and dignified him with the title of
the American Barras. Malice, however, who sheds
her venom upon the best of characters, accounts for
this rapid and remarkable change in the manners of
Mr. Thatcher by the powerful attraction of British
gold, and even hints at a promise from the ambas-
sador Liston, if Blount*sconspiracy had taken effect.
But it is much more probable that the love of vani-
ty and applause, and a desire to rise in the estima-
tion of Mr. Adams, were the principal motives
which induced this New-England member to pass
from the humble path of reserve and decency into
the boisterous ocean of noise and petulance.

Harrison G. Otis is another member from the
royal state of Massachusetts, who laboured with

OF JOHN ADAMS. 189

all the trick of a quibbling attorney, to get the Alien
bill passed into a law. This man is not entirely
divested of fancy, but he is a stranger to argument,
and unacquainted with the virtues of truth and
candor. The interest of British merchants, it is
reported, procured him to be one of the direc-
tors of the bank of the United States, and several
pecuniary favors which he has granted these gen-
tlemen in return, prove that he possesses, in an
eminent degree, the qualifications of gratitude and a
bountiful heart to his friends. He is neither de-
void of filial affection, if we may judge from
his petty manoeuvres to procure an addition of two
hundred dollars to the salary of his father. But the
fear which he expresses of Frenchmen, and his
hatred at Irishmen, are the two striking character-
istics of his mind. In the summer of 1798, he so
much dreaded a French invasion, that it is said, he
would have removed into some of the back settle-
nientshad it not been for the persuasion ofDwight
Foster and George Thatcher. No man, says Mr.
Callender, can be m.ore ambitious to be the scaven-
ger of his party than this calumniator of the Irish
ration. Mr. Otis has since obtained his wish, for
no man is more employed in rallying and collecting
together the scattered dregs of federalism than Har-
rison G. Otis.

The late Mr. Josiah Colt, of Connecticut, who
voted both for the Alien and Sedition bills, wished
at first to be considered impartial j but on this ac-
count he was attacked with the utmost fury by the

190 THE ADMINISTRATION

Treasury newspapers. William Cobbett railed at
him under the name of the Connecticut Bear ; Tim-
othy Pickering used to say, a doubtful friend was
inore dangerous than a professed enemy, and so
was Mr. Coit -, Mr. Adams said he never wished
to keep his mouth shut but in the presence of Mr.
Coit. To do aw^ay these prejudices which Mr. Coit
perceived the federal faction possessed towards
him, he made a long and violent invective in Con-
gress against Mr. Jefferson, and afterwards voted
for every measure the President desired.

Such were the characters of the principal lead-
ers of the New-England faction, who ushered in-
to existence the Allen bill and gave a stab to the
independence of America which will be long felt
and remembered. I shall now slightly trace a few
of the Federal Representatives in the other States,
who w^ere no less active in promoting the power of
the President and infringing upon the rights of the
people.

General Williams, of the State of New-York,
stands first in the list of these Federalists. This
man, in the early period of his life, was for several
years tumbler to a Quack Doctor, who trav-
elled through the United States, vending his nos*
trums. In these itinerant speculations. Gen-
eral Williams, who is remarkable for activity and
strength of body, used to carry upon his shoul-
ders all the stage apparatus and several chests of
medicine. When the revolutionary w^ar broke out
he enlisted in the army, and by his valor more

OF JOHN ADAMS. 191

than his honesty, rose to the rank he now holds. In
1776, he was elected a Senator from the State of
New- York, but was expelled two years afterwards
for the crimes of perjury, forgery and corruption, as
may be seen by the Journals of that Assembly.'^

* The following are the charges which were preferred against
him by the Senate of New-York, on the 24th of October, 1778 ;

I. That John Williams, Efq. has ordered regimental courts
martial, for the trial of persons upwards of fifty years of age,
and others ; and for offences not cognizable before any court
martial of the militia, authorized by the law of this state, in
which case the supposed delinquents have been fined in different
sums, from four shilHngs up to thirty pounds ; and that in con-
sequence thereof, their personal property had been distrained and
sold at an under value, to their great loss and impoverishment,
and without being duly convened at such court martial, and
furnished with an opportunity of defending themselves.

2d. That Lieutenant-Colonel Webster, of the said John Wil-
liams's regiment, was not only not consulted about the appoint-
ment of such courts martial, but was never appointed or request-
ed by the said John Wilhams, to sit in, or attend at either of them j
although the said John Williams had frequent and ready admis-
sioa at the said courts martial.

3d. That he not only subjects persons, by means of such pe-
cuniary punishments as aforesaid, to heavy forfeitures, but also, for
effectually levying them, threatens many of the inhabitants of the
county to try them for their lives, unless they submit to the
penalties imposed by such courts martial as aforesaid ; declaring,
to their great distress, that he has it in his power to strip them of
all their property.

4th. That he has made false abstracts for the militia, who
have been in actual service under him, whereby he has, to the pre-
judice of the continent, received much greater sums than it was
ever conceived were due to such militia j and has withheld

192 THE ADMINISTRATION

The federalists exclaim against the private
characters of those men who figured in the Nation-
al Assembly and Convention of France j while
they pass over in silence the vices of their own par-
ty. But let them examine the life and actions of

from persons belonging to his regiment, pay that was actually due
them, and received by him for their use.

5th. That in the trial i)£ sundry persons, before such courts
martial, as aforesaid, for supposed offences, he has caused the said
courts to enquire into facts, which, if they ever happened, must
have been perpetrated long before the militia law took place ;
thus making a law, which v/as only intended to apply to cases
posterior in their occurrence to the law itself, have retrospect to
facts, which if real, must have occurred before the passing thereof.

6th. That when the continental troops abandoned Tjconde-
roga, and retreated from the enemy, and they advanced into the
country, he sent one Jonathan Baker to Major Skeene, in the
enemy's service, and furnished him wi'ih hard money to bear his
expences ; that Baker returned from Major Skeene v/ith a mani-
festo and proclamation from General Burgoyne, calculated to en-
force the submission of the inhabitants ; which manifesto and pro-
clamation were brought into the committee and by them sup-
pressed.

7th. That afterwards, when the enemy had advanced as far as
Fort Ann, and the danger of the inhabitants thereby increased,
he called the people of his regiment together, and told them they
must take care of themselves, intim.ating thereby his dechning to
command them ; and that afterwards, having collected them in
his barn, he told them they had but one of three things to choose,
to wit, either to fly for their lives, or take up arms and fight the
enemy, or submit to them and take protections. And that after-
wards, when Captain M*Crocker, a continental officer, arrived on
the spot, he, the said John Williams, abandoned the command of
his regiment to the said officer. (Page 136, Journal of the
Senate of the State of New- York, for 1778.)

OF JOHN ADAMS. 193

this beloved friend of Mr. Adams, and compare
them with the deeds of the blackest jacobin who
ever graced the bloody list of Robespiere, and they
will find that General John Williams is infinitely
their superior in perfidy and low chicanery. It is
inconceivable how this man ever came to ba
elected a member of Congress, or how the House
of Representatives suffered him to profane their
presence ^ unless we suppose that an interval of
time had cast a shade over his villainy, and that in
the dearth of honesty the rogue crept in.

On the 28th January, 1779, General WilliamG, after a full
investigation of these charges, was found guilt}- of those contain-
ed in the 2d and 4th articles, and in some instances, of those in
the 1st article. (Page 159, Journal 01 the Senate.) On the 8th
cf February, 1779, ^^ ^^'^^ expelled by the following minute :
(Page 166, Journal of the Senate.) The crimes of \vhich John
Williams, Esquire, stands adjudged by the resolutions of this Sen-
ate, of the 29th of January last, holds him upas entirely destitute
of integrity, evidenced by his unjust misapplication of military au-
thority, his flagrant peculation ou the United States of North
America, his dishonest attempts to deprive the militia under his
command of their just pay, and his after attempts to covcrliis in-
justice by undue applications of a great part of the monies which
he had received from the pay office of the said United States, up-
on false and fraudulent pay abstracts, fabricated and attested by
himself. In this accumulated and just view of his conduct, ne
appears to this Senate, wholly unworthy to represent the good
people of this State in the dignified and important place of a Sena-
tor thereof.

Resolved, therefore, that the said John Williams, Esquire, be,
and he is hereby expelled this Senate.

Bb

|9't THE ADMINISTRATION

Jonathan Dayton, of New- Jersey, the late
Speaker of Congress, is notorious from Boston to
Georirla. The deeds of the other members of Con-
gress were scarcely known beyond the circle of
their respective States, but the speculations of this
iTianhave rungthroughout the western world. They
are unfolded in sixteen letters to one Francis Childs,
which were made public by a bill of complaint
■which Dayton and one Lawrence presented to the
Chancellor of New-York, against Childs. The let*
ters will speak for themselves;* for any comment

^ To the Honorable Robert R. Liv'tngsforit Esquire, Chancellor of
the State of Neiu-Torh,
The bill of complaint of Jonathan Hampton Lawrence and
Jonathan Dayton, humbly complaining, shew urlto your honor,
your orators, Jonathan H. Lawrence and Jonathan Dayton, of
the City of New- York, merchants, trading and using commerce,
together with Francis Childs, under the style or firm of Law-
rence, Dayton and Co. That some time in or about the thir-
teenth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven
hundred and ninety-fix, the said Francis Childs and a certain Wil-
liam Denning, junior, applied to your orators, to endorse two
promissory notes for them ; the one drawn by the said Francis
Childs, for the sum of eighteen thousand eight hundred and ten dol-
lars, the other drawn by the said William Denning, junior, for
the sum of six thousand six hundred dollars, both dated on the said
thirteenth day of May, in the year laft aforesaid, and payable,
with interest, in eighteen months after date ; and your orators
shew, that in compHance with such request, they endorfed the
said notes, with their said firm, and dehvered the same to the
said William Denning, junior, and Francis Childs. And your
orators shew, that the said several promissory notes were deliver-
ed by the said Francis Childs and William Denning, junior, to a
certain Thomas Marston, in purfuance of a colorable agreement

OF |OHN ADAMS. 19$

upon such a scheme would only tend to render stale
and Jess flagrant the rascality of the transaction*
Some crimes are so horrible in their nature as will
not endure the lash of censure, and the actions of

for the sale of land-office warrants ; which, as your orators are
informed by the said William Denning, junior, was an usurious
agreement, for the loan of money at an interest greatly exceed-*
ing the interest of seven per cent, per anmim. And that the
said notes were made and given by them, and received by the said
Thomas Marston, to secure the said sum, and the illegal and usu*
rious interest thereof, contrary to the form of the statute, in such
case made and provided ; whereby your orators are advised, the
said several notes are void and of no effect. And your orators
further shew, that at and for some considerable time after the said
thirteenth day of May, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-sixj
the said Francis Childs, and the said William Denning, junior,
were and continued to be solvent ; but that your orators did not
pay the said notes and endorsements, to secure themselves ap'ainst
the said endorsements by suits against the said William Denning
and Francis Childs, they being assured by the said William Den-
ning, junior, that the said corrupt agreement could be proved by
evidence in his possession, and that the said evidence should be
produced ; the said William Denning, junior, having formally for-
bidden your orators to pay the said note, on the ground of such
corrupt agreement. But now, so it is, may it please your honor,
that the said Francis Childs, and WiUiam Denning, junior, having
become insolvent, the said Thomas Marston, delayed commencing
any prosecution against your orators, until the said WiUiam Den-
ning and Francis Childs became insolvent ; but about a year af-
ter the said notes became due, commenced a suit in the Supreme
Court of this State, against your orators, as endorsers of the said
£e veral notes. And the said Francis Childs and William Denning,
well knowing their inabihty to pay the said notes, in case they
should be taken up by your orators, but combining and confede-
rating themselves, to and with the said Thomas Marston, and t«

196 THE ADMINISTRATION

Dayton are of this class. Mr. Callender says there
appears to be something abourf: this Federalist which
even treachery cannot trust.

Four members from Pennsylvania voted for the

and with divers olher persons, at present unknov/n to your orators,
whose names, when discovered, they pray may be inserted in this
their bill of complaint, ^v^th proper and apt words, to charge them
as parties thereto, in this respect, how to injure and aggrieve your
orators, refuse to produce the testimony of the original agreement
and consideration for the said notes ; and the said Thomas Mars-
ton refuses to discover whether any, and what sums of money was
left in his hands, by the said Francis Childs or William Denning,
junior, or either of them, which ought, in equity, to have been en-
dorsed as a payment thereon. All v/hich actingr. and doings, of
the said cdnfederators, are contrary to equity and good conscience,
and tend to the manifest injury and oppression of your orators.
In tender consideration whereof, and forasmuch as your orators are
%vhcriy remediless in the premises, by the cciirt rules of the com-
mon law, the said suit being new pending against them, and your
Baid orators being unable to plead, on account of the want of such.
precii^e information of the evidence of the said original agreement
as the said confederates possess, but v/hich they now refuse to
communicate, and that the rather, as the information relative to
such evidence, together with the delay in bringing the said suit,
tended to prevent your orators from securing themselves against
the said endorsements. To the end, therefore, that the said Tho-
mas Marston, Francis Childs, and William Denning, junior, and
the rest of the confederators, when discovered, may, upon their
several and respective corporeal oaths, true, full, and perfect an-
swer make, to all and singular the premises, in as full and ample
manner as if the same were here again repeated, and they thereto
interrogated. And that the said suits at law, against your ora-
tors, may be enjoined, and that they may have such farther and
other rehef, as to your honpr shall seem meet, and be agreeable to
equity and good conscience. May it please your honor, to grant

OF JOHN ADAMS* 197

Alien act ; and Mr. Hartley, who was then ab-
sent, voted for the Sedition act.

Mr. Bayard, from Delaware, is an avowed
aristocrat, an unblushing advocate for political
corruption, and a man whose life has been dedica-
ted to the most unworthy pursuits.

unto your orators, the most gracious writ of the people, of injunc-
tion to the said Thomas Marston, his attomies, counsellors, soli-
citors and agents, and every of them, to be directed, thereby com-
manding them, under a certain pain, therein to be expressed, ab-
solutely to desist from further prosecuting the said suit at law
against your orators, until the said defendants shall have fully an-
swered this bill, and your honor shall make other order herein to
the contrary. And may it also please your honor, to grant unto
your orators, the most gracious writ or the people, of injunction
to the said Thomas Marston, Francis Childs, and William Den-
ning, junior, and their confederates, when discovered, command-
ing tl»em and every of them, at a certain day and under a certain
pain, therein to be expressed, to be and appear before your honor,
in this honorable court, to answer all and singular, and to stand
to perform and abide such order and decree therein, as may be
agreeable to equity and good conscience ; and your orators vTill
ever pray. J. H. LAWRENCE.

Sworn this second day of June, 1800, before me,

JAMES M. HUGHES, Master in Chancery,

I certify that I have perused the within bill, and in my opia*
on a writ of injunction ought to ifTue, agreeably to the prayer
thereof, the suit at law not being at issue.

JAMES M. HUGHES, Master in Chancery.

Dated 2d June, 1800.

I certify the preceding to be a true copy of a bill filed in my
ofHce, July 5, 1800.

ISAAC L. KIP, Clerk of Chancery.

198 THE ADMINISTRATION

William Cralk, of Maryland, was originally a
man of some moderation, and possessed of a consi-
derable share of political knowledge. By botk
parties he was heard with deference and respect;

Anszver of T. Marston to the above Complaint.

State of New-York, )

Court of Chancery, 3 ^he several answers of Thomas Marston^
defendant^ luho is impleaded nvith Frari'
CIS Childs and IVilliam Denning, junior, to
the bill of complaint of Jonathan H. Law-
rence, and Jonathan Dayton, complainants*

IN CHANCERY.
This defendant, now, and at all times hereafter, saving and
reserving to himself all^ and all manner of benefit, and advantage
of exception, that may be had or taken, to the many errors, un-
-certainties, and manifest insufficiencies, in th& complainants' said
bill of complaint, contained for answer thereto, or unto so much
thereof as this defendant is advised is material or necessary to make
answer unto, he answereth and saith, that some time in the month
of April, or the beginning of May, in the year of our Lord one
thousand seven hundred and ninety-.six, this defendant holding
certain land- office warrants, he was appHed to by Francis Childs,
ramed in the said bill of complaint through his agent, George
Knox, to sell the same warrants to him ; that this defendant
agreed with tlie said agent to sell the said warrants at and after the
rate of fifty-five dollars for each hundred acres; that the number
of warrants amounted, as near as this defendant can recollect, to
four hundred and sixty-two, covering in the whole forty-six thou-
sand two hundred acres of land. And this defendant further
saith, that the amount of the consideration to be given for the said
warrants, was twenty-five thousand four hundred and ten dollars ;
and that the same this defendant agreed to accept in notes, pay-
able within eighteen months, with lawful interest ; and this de-
fendant further answering, saith, that on the thirteenth day of
May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and

OF JOHN ADAMS. 199

but this did not please Mr. Adams, and a friendly

hint was given to him by Secretary Pickering that

neither praise nor profit could be got by such con-
duct.

ninety-six, the agreement for the sale of the. said land-office war-
rants was completed, and, as near as he can recollect, he deliver-
ed the said warrants to the said agents, or a clerk of the said
Francis Childs, and at the same time, this defendant received a
promissory note, dated the said thirteenth day of May, in the
said year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, made by
the said Francis Childs, in favor of Lav/rence, Dayton and Co»,
for the sum of eighteen thousand eight hundred and ten dollarc,
payable in eighteen months, with interest, which note was endorsed
by said Lawrence, Dayton and Co. to WilHam Denning, junior,
and by the said William Denning, junior, endorsed to this defend-
ant. And this defendant further saith, that for the residue of the
said consideration for the said warrants, he received one other pro-
missory note, bearing date the said thirteenth day of May, in the
year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, made by the said
WiUiam Denning, junior, in favor of Lawrence, Dayton, and Co.
for the sum of six thousand, six hundred dollars, payable in
eighteen months, with interest, which note was endorsed by the
said Lawrence, Dayton and Co. to this defendant. And this
defendant further saith, that the said agreement for the purchase
of the said land-office warrants, as aforesaid, was an honest and
bona fide transaction, and not a corrupt or usurious agreement ;
neither are the considerations expressed in the said promissory
notes, usurious or illegal ; neither were the said notes given
for the loan of money, at an interest exceeding the interest of
seven per cent, per annum ; but the same were given to secure to
this defendant the payment of the amount of the consideration
money, agreed to be given to this defendant, for the said land-
office warrants, and for no other purpose. And this defendant
further answering, saith, that some time after the said notes be-
came due, he caused a suit to be instituted in the Supreme Court

200 THE ADMINISTRATION

For the speculations of General Morgan, of
Virginia, I must refer the reader to Captain Ste-
phenson's printed letters. Morgan held an office
in the Pittsburgh expedition, and shared very deep-

of Judicature of this State against the complainants upon the
said note ; that as this defendant hath been informed by his at-
torney, and which information he beheves to be true, in such suit
it was plead in abatement of the same, that the said Francis Childs
was their partner; and thereupon the said suit was discontinued
and the suit alluded to in the complainants' bill of complaint, in-
stituted, and is now depending. And this defendant further
saith, that he has not received at any time, either from the com-
plainants, the said Francis Childs, or the said William Denning,
junior, any payment whatever, on account of the said notes, or
either of them ; but that the sum of twenty-five thousand four
hundred and ten dollars, the amount of the said notes, with the
lawful interest thereon, from the said thirteenth day of May, in
the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, is now justly
due this defendant. And this defendant humbly insists, that the
allegations of the said complainants, in their said bill of com-
plaint, are mere pretexts, to avoid paying a just debt. And this
defendant further saith, that as the agreement for the sale and de-
livery of the said land-office warrants, was a verbal one, from the
length of time elapsed, since the making of it, he cannot from his
recollection, set forth any further or more relating thereto, than
what he hath already done, in this his answer. — And this defend-
ant further saith, that he denies all, and all manner of unlawful
combination and confederacy, wherewith he is charged, without
that there is any other matter, cause or thing,in the complainants'
said bill of complaint contained, material or effectual in the law,
for this defendant to make answer unto, and not herein and hereby
weil and sufficiently answered, avoided, traversed, or denied, iss
true, to the knowledge and belief of this defendant, all which mat-
ters and things this defendant is ready and willing to aver, main-
tain, and prove, as this honorable court shall direct ; and humbly

OF JOHN ADAMS. 201

.^.y in the profits of that job. Want of health pre-
vented his attendance when the Alien and Sedition
bills passed, or he would, without any hesitation,
have voted for the royal pair.

prays to be hence dismissed, with his reasonable costs and charges
in the law, in this behalf, most wrongfully snctained.

THOMAS MARSTON.
Sworn the 1st of July, i3oo, before

THOMAS COOPER, Master in Chancery.

Ansxvcr of Francis Child^, SsC.

State of New-York. 1

In Chancer}^ J The several answers of Frr.nc'is ChUdsy dc
fendarJ^ rjuho is impleaded tuith Thoracis
Mdrston and IViUiam Denning^ jitnior, to
the hill of complaint of Jonathan H. Laiu-
rence and "Jonathan Dayton, complainarts.
This defendant, saving to himself, now, and at all times
hereafter, all, and all manner of benefit, and advantage cf excep-
tion, that may be had or taken, to the many untruths, errors,
uncertainties, and manifest insufficiencies, in the complainants'
said bill of complaint, contained for ansv/er thereunto, or unto
so much thereof as this defendant is advised is material or neces-
sary for this defendant to make answer unto, he answereth and
saith, that some time previous to the thirteenth day of May, in
the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six,
this defendant and the complainants, Jonathan H. Lawrence and
Jonathan, Dayton became partners in trade, under the firm and
style of Lawrence Dayton, and Co. That the said Jonathan
DaytoH was then Speaker of the House of Representatives in
Congress, and resided, at that time, in the city of Philadelphia ;
and from his situation in public life, well knowing the advan-
tages which would result from speculating in land-office warrants,
projected a speculation, and wrote to this defendant, in the city
of New-York, to purchase a quantity of paper of ^hat descrip-

C^ c

■^02 THE •ADMllN'ISTRAIlON

James Machir is a Scots tory, and cautiously
v/itbdrew himself to the country before the bills
were broufzht forward.

Thomas Evans, also of Virginia, voted for

tion ; that thereupon, this defendant learning that Thomas
Marston, of the city of New- York, gentleman, had a number of
land-olEce warrants to dispose of, this defendant appHed, by his
agent, to the said Thomas Marston, for the purchase of the said
warrants, which were in number four hundred and sixty-two.
And this defendant agreed with the said Thomas Marston, to
allow for the same, "zt and after the rate of fifty-five dollars for
each hundred acres of land contained in the said warrants, to be
j>aid within eighteen months, with interest. And this defendant
further saith, that the said warrants were to and did actually cover
forty-six thousand two hundred acres of land. And this de-
fendant further saith, that at the time the said speculation was on
foot, he communicated the same to the said Jonathan H. Law'
rence, who expressed a wish to be concerned therein ; that there-
upon this defendant wrote to the said Jonathan Dayton upon the
subject, who approved of the said Jonathan H. Lawrence being
concerned in the said speculation. And this defendant further
Saith, that "William Denning, junior, of the city of Nev,--York,
also knowing of the said speculation, did apply to this defendant,
to let him, the said WilHam Denning, junior, into a share of the
said purchase and speculation ; that thereupon this defendant
consulted with the said Jonathan H. Lawrence, who was the
u£ling partner of the house of Lawrence, Dayton and Co.
and who consented to the said William Denning, junior, becom-
ing interested in the said purchase and speculation with them.
Ard this defendant further answering, saith, that he, immediate-
ly thereafter, by his said agent, concluded the said agreement
with the said Thomas Marston, and informed him that the said
William Denning, junior, was to be concerned with this defend-
ant, the said Jonathan H. Lawrence and Jonathan Dayton, in
the said purchase. And this defendant further answering, saith,

OF JOHN ADAMS. 203

both, and defended them In a pamphlet, the style
and language of wnich were not ill adapted to the
dignity of the cause he had undertaken.

Mr. Grove was the only member from North-
that in order to secure to the said Thomas Marstcn, the payment
of the consideration money, agreed to be paid to the said Thomas
Mars ton, for the said warrants, at the time aforesaid, and at the
rate aforesaid^ amounting in the whole to the sum of twentv-five
thousand four hundred and ten dollars, tliis defendant, in conse-
quence of a previous understanding between him and the said
Jonathan H. Lawrence for that purpose, and at his request, did,
on the thirteenth day of May, in the year one thousand seven
hundred and ninety-six, make a certain promissory note to Messrs.
Lawrence, Dayton and Co. payable to them, or order, in eigh-
teen months after date, for the sum of eighteen thousand eipfht
hund.-ed and ten dollars, with interest, (that sum being the
amount of the said warrants which fell to the share of Lawrence,
Dayton and Co. on such purpose) which note was endorsed bv
the said Jonathan H. Lawrence, for Lawrence, Dayton and Co.
to ths said William Denning, junior, and by the said Williani
Denning, junior, endorsed to the said Thomas Marston. And
this defendant further saith, that for the residue of the conside-
ration money for the said warrants, the said William Denning,,
junior, did make a certain other note to the said Lawrence, Day-
ton and Co. payable in eigriteen months, for tlie sum of six thou-
sand six hundred dollars, with interest (that sum being the
amount of the said warrants, at the rate aforesaid, which fell to
the share of the said William Denning, junior) which said last
mentioned note was endorsed by the said Jonathan H. Lawrence,
for the said Lawrence, Dayton and Co. to the said Thomas
Marston. And this defendant further saith, that said notes beings
thus drawn, endorsed and delh'ered to the said Thomas Marston,
the said land wai-ants, at the same time, were delivered by the
said Thomas Marston to a clerk of this defendant, and this de-
fendant delivered the same to tlie said Jonathan H. Lawrence.

©04 THE ADMINISTRATION

Carolina who supported these bills. This man, to
use the wordsof Junius, is only " the Punch of the
puppet-ihow, to speak as he is prompted by the
chief juggler behind the curtain."

and who, to the best of this defendant's recollection and belief,
entered the same, or such parts thereof as belonged to the said
Lawrence, Dayton and Co. in the books of the said compar,}',
and delivered the same, which fell to the share of the said Wil-
liam Denning, junior, to him. And this defendant further saith,
that he is informed that the said William Denning, junior, seme
short tune after, sold and disposed of the said land warrants which
{lII to his share, to a profit ; and that the said Lawrence and
Dayton, though not for the benefit of Lawrence, Dayton and
Co, ljcattdapa.t of the said warrants which fell to their ehare,
on lands of an immense value. And this defendant further an-
sw-ering, saith, that the said agreen-icnt, for the said purchase of
the said land warrants, was not a corrupt or usurious agreement j
neither were the considerationo expressed in the said notes usuri-
ous or illegal ; neither v/ere tlie said notes given for the loan of
money, at an interest exceeding the intereft of seven per cent,
per annum ; but the same vi-ere given to secure to the said Tho-
mas Marston the consideration money to be paid for the said
warrants, which were purchased upon good faith, and a fair
transaction. And this defendant further saith, that the caid
note, so as aforesaid drawn by this defendant, was not for his
own private benefit or account, but on account of the said Law-
rence, Dayton and Co. And that before and since the fding cf
the said bill of complaint, the said Jonathan H. Lavrrer.ce has
acknowledged the same to this defendant. And this defendant
further saith, that before the said notes became due, he v/ent to
Europe ; and that before he went to Europe, conceiving himself
not separately answerable for the payment of the said note so
drawn by him as c foresaid, he never made any arrangements for
the payments thereof when the same became due ; but this de-
fendant saith, that when he went to Europe, he left in the hands

OF JOJiN ADAMS, 205

The members from South-Carolina who voted
for the Alien and Sedition acts, were Tiiomas Pinck-
ney, Robert G. Harper and John Rutledge.

The politcalcliaracter of Harper is well known^

of the said Jonathan H. L:iwrence and Jonathan Dayton, per-
sonal property sufEcient to h:\ve paid his proportion of the s:tid
notes, which property might easily have been turned into money,
and the notes paid otT and discharged, had the caid Jonathan Ji,
Lawrence and Jonathan Dayton been disposed so to do. And
this defendant furtlier ciith, that he has been informed, and veniy
beheves, that after the said Wilham Denning, junior, liud given
his note as aforesaid, and before the same because due, the gaid
WilHani Denning, junior, became insolvent.

And this defendant further saith, that the Gaid Fpeciilation irj
the said land warrants, was a project and contrivance of th-z said-
Jonathan Dayton, whilst he was Speaker of the House ef Repre-f
&entatives in Congress, as this defendant can abundantly srev\-by
letters from the said Jonathan Dayton, to him upon the subject,
and copies of which are hereunto annexed ; And this defendsnt
further answering, saith, that he cannot but confess that the wh,:,!^
amount of principal and interest on the said notes, are now hon-
estly due to the said Thomas ?/Iarston, agreeable to the tenor of
the said notes, and that the said notes ought long since to have
been paid off : And this defendant deniec that any payment what-
ever has been made by him to the said Thomas Marston, on
account of the said notes or either of them j and insists that the
ali:gations of the sr.id complainants as contained in their bill of
coir.plaint, are mere shifts used by them to delay or get rid of the
payment of a just debt : And this defendant furtheranswering, faith,
that he knows not of his own knowledge, when the suit mentioned
in the complainants' bill of complaint was instituted upon the
Laid ncles, but he has been informed and believes, that during his
r.bsence in Europe, a suit was commenced upon the said notes,
ag?inst the said Jonathan H. Lawrence and Jonathan Dayton,
r.nd that to uich suit, the Esid complainants plead in abatement,

206 THE ADMINISTRATION

and probably we shall have his secret history, when,
]ike Alexander Hamilton, he will be obliged to
give to the world his amorous intrigues, in order
to divert public attention from contemplating the

that this defendant was not a party to the said suit : and that
thereupon the said suit was discontinued, and a suit commenced
anew in the Supreme Court of this State upon the said notes, in
which suit this defendant is made one of the defendants, and
which suit, as this defendant is informed, is the one now alluded
to in the complainants' said bill of complaint. And this defendant
further saith, that as the agreement respecting the purchase of the
said land ofnce warrants, from the said Thomas Marston, was not
reduced to writing, he can declare or discover no other agreement
than the one before in this his answer, set forth in that behalf.
And this defendant denies all, and all manner of unlawful combi-
nations and confederacy wherewith he is charged — without that,
that there is any other matter, cause orthingin the complainants, said
bill of complaint, contained material or effectual in the law for this
defendant to make answer unto, and not herein and hereby well
and sufB.ciently answered, avoided, traversed or denied, is true to
the knowledge or belief of this defendant, all which matters and
things this defendant is ready and willing to aver, maintain and
prove as this honorable court shall direct, and humbly prays to be
hence dismissed vi-iih hi"» reasonable costs and charges in the lawj
in this beha^-f wrongfully sustained.

FRANCIS CHILDS.
Sworn this 26th day of June, 1800, before me,

THOMAS COOPER, Masler in Chancery.

LETTER. (No. I.)

Dear Sir,
I transmit herewith Finlay's Commercial Register, which may
be useful to you and L. D. & Co. as matter of information. I
hope to hear from you upon the subject of the warrants, when
the mail which left New-York yesterday arrives here. A large
company is forming itself here, for the purchase of United States

OF JOHN ADAMS. 207

schemes he had formed for enslaving his countiy.
The characters of Pinckney and Rutledge I
reserve until I treat of the election of Mr. Jeffer-
son in South-Carolina.

lands, and a pavt of their capital is to be 2000 military land war-
rants ; but it will be impossible for the company to procure them
without payinfj a very high price.

Yours in haste, JONA. DAYTON.

P. S. You need not mention my name.
Francis Chizds, Esq. Nenv-Torh.

Free. JONA. DAYTON.
(No. II.)

Philadelphia^ January 27, 1796.
Dear. Sir,
I have been very directly informed that military land warrants
have been, within a few days, sold in New York, upon time, at se-
venty-five dollars per hundred acres. Will you employ some
broker, who is in that line, to enquire how much can be had in
cash for them, to the amount of 200 warrants, or 20,000 acres,
and how much upon time, with or without the legal interest. Do
not mention my name to the broker, or any other person ; nor
make it known that it is my wish to sell, as such information might
possibly have an influence to produce a fall. The committee have
reported a bill for the sale of lands, in the North-Wcstern Territo-
ry ; have fixed the price at two dollars per acre, and have admit-
ted military warrants, in payment for all purchasers, in the pro-
portion of one r.eventh. As soon as it comes from the press I will
transmit it to you. The sime committee are preparing two other
bilh, the one for sale of lands in the South- Western Territory,
and the other, for the grant of the military tracts upon the loca-
tion of military warrants. You will oblige me by writing on this
subject by Monday's mail. JONA. DAYTON.

P. S. Mr. Mitchell was oie who gave seventy-five dollars.
F, Chizds, Fsj.

203 THE ADMi:flSTRATION

CHAPTER VII.

Observations vpon the Allen and Sedition Bills,..,
Arrestment of Dr. Smith and Mr. Bur /{....Origin
of Br. Smith's acquaintance ivith Mr. Adams...,
Trial of Colonel Matheio Lyon.... Barbarous treat-'
v,ent totvards French prisoners. ...Case of^jseph
Ball and others.

1 HE Alien and Sedition bills were acts, for
the passing of which Mr. Adams deserves to be
dragged and impeached before the bar of the Sen-
ate ; nor will Congress perform their duty to the

(No. III.)

Philadelphia-, 'January 29, 1 796.
Dear Sir,
I send you a copy of the bill for the sale of lands in the North-
Western Territory ; it would be v/ell for Mr. Morton to publish
it, that any persons may be at liberty to make such remarks,
either by letters to members, or otherwise, as suggeft themselves.
Has Capt. Waddell sailed, and did he sail before the receipt c^
my letters ? It is possible that the pubhcation of the inclosed bilL^
on Monday, may so affect the market for warrants, as to raise
them on Monday evening. I wish, therefore, you would writ^
to me by Tuesday's mail. If your broker should be offered more
than 52 dollars in cash, or in proportion for thirty or sixty daySj^,
you may direct him to make engagements for 200 warrants, or
■20,000 acres, to be delivered in eight days ; or you can prcbablyi'
borrow them from Capt. Watson, or seme other friend, until I
can send them from this place. Your attention to this will oblige
your friend, &c. JOKA. D.

Francis CaiLDSt Esq.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 209

people, if they suffer such an infringement of thei-
rights to pass unnoticed. The rebelHon of Fries.
or the outrages committed by the western mob,
were not iiuch flagrant violations of the Constitution

(No. IV.)

Philadelphia, February 5, 1796.
Dear Sir,
In consequence of the great scarcity of cash, it may perhaps
be more beneiicial to make sale of the warrants upon credit. I
wish the first payment of four thousand dollars to fall due the
thirtieth of March, and the residue at such convenient times
thereafter as may accommodate the purchaser. I expect an op-
portunity in one or two days to send forwards the two hundred
warrants, as I shall want a supply of money in a few days bcvcnd
what I have at command. I vv'ould consent to vour takinor for
one thii-d or one half of them, fifty dollars in cash, if you cannot get
more, as they have been sold in New-York for seventy- five dollars
on a year's credit. It is best to request your agent to ask high
enough for them, and to knov;' from any persons offering to pur-
chase, what they will give.

A company has formed itself here, which will absorb 16 or
1800 land warrants, amounting to 160 or i8o,coo acres. I have
desired Mr. Meeker to sign, in name of J. H. Lawrence and
Co. such number of shares as amount to 30,000 acres, payable
in warrants. ' If you or he wish to come in, it is so arranged that
you can come in for a part of the 30,000, after the plan of the as-
sociation and its objects are made known to you. Write to me
by the next mail, and believe me yours, with esteem,

Mr, Chills. J. D.

(No. V.)

Philadelphia^ Feb. 9, 1796.
Dear Sir,
I have received your's of yesterday, and agreeably to my pro-
mise transmit you herewith a copy of the bill reported by the
committee, for locating military land warrants. Is it necessary

O d

1210 THE ADMINISTRATION

of the United States, as those unwarrantable deeds*
I do not mean to perplex the reader with a tedious
argument upon a subject which has already been
so fully discussed -, divine inspiration itself, could
hardly throw a new light upon it.

that I should send yoii the warrants before I have information
that you have stipulated for their sale ? as in case you fail I should
fvish to have them here, to take advantage of any sudden favor-
able offer in this place. If, however, you think it advisable, I
will forward them by the first good opportunity, although the one
which I expected by Mr. Ogden has failed, he having returned
from Trenton home without visiting us as he had proposed. What
terms have been oftered you for the warrants in cash or on time ?
The enclosed bill may be printed if you think best.

Yours with esteem,

J. D.

P. S. Do you know whether James Watson still holds Kis
warrants i*

F. Childs, Es'JK

(No. VI.)

Philadelphia^ Feb, lo, 1796.
Dear Sir,

I have this moment received your's of yesterday, and approve
of the sale at 50 dollars for the whole 200. A good opportunity
must be sought for transmitting them to you. I will thank you
to inform m*» on what day you must have them, so that if a good
conveyance does not previously offer, I miust send a person pur-
posely with them to reach you within the time. The payment
in 10 or 15 days will answer my purpose well, provided you are
certain of a compliance at that time, and the warrants are only
to be delivered at the moment of payment. You will please to
employ the m^oney as you propose for me, if to be done safely
and to great advantage. I have fifty more which I would sell at
^^ dollars for 60 days to Mr. M. if he can give you a good en-
dorser....perhaps John Stites. Inform me the day I must fend

OF JOHN ADAMS. 311

The 9th Sect, of Art. 1. of the Constitutioiv
proves, in a sufRcient manner, the illegality of the
Alien bill. " The migration or importation," says
that clause, " of such persons as any of the States

them, and what can be had in cash or on credit, when you write
me. I am holder of a very large quantity, which higher prices
alone can tempt me to sell ; do you know who are the buyers gen-
erally in your market ?

The charters you request, shall be procured and sent.
Yours,
Francis Childs, Eso, JONA. DAYTOM. "

(No. VII.)

Philadelphia^ Feh, l^th, ijgS.
Dear Sir,
Mr. Benjamin Williamson is now here, and will leave this place
on Wednesday morning. I shall send the warrants by him, and
he has promised that he will take them immediately to you in
New-York, so that you may expect them on Saturday at farthest.
Do not loose sight of the contract you have made, for I am aware
that they will experience a temporary fall, and if you fear any
disadvantage from the delay, it may be possible to borrow them ;
but as your letter mentions that you are to be paid in 1 2 or 1 5
days, I conclude tlie purchaser will think himself favored that
you do not call upon him sooner. Your broker or agent vcould
do well to enquire whether he will be ready to pay the money, and
receive the warrants by Saturday, or if it is prefercd, by Monday.
Is it improper for you to tell me who the purchaser is ? I am pro-
mised the papers which you wished to have to-day.
Yours in haste,
Francis CniLns, Esn. JONA. DAYTON.

(No. VIII.)

Phil. Feb. 2-3^, 1796.
Di AR Sir,
I have received your's of yesterday : I am of opinion that the
land-office bill will pass, the- difference in sentiment v»hich occurs

212 THE ADiMlNISTRATION

HOW existing, shall think proper to admit, shall not
be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one
thousand eight hundred and eight ; but a tax or du-
ty may be imposed on such importation, not ex-

in debate appearing to turn principally upon the mode and system
rather than upon the expedience of doing it. Warrants cannot
be got here at 50.. ..no broker or other person will engage to sup-
ply two or three hundred under sixty dolars each, but they bid
no price in proportion in cash, as it is extremely scarce. I have
not sold out as St. and Salt, suspect ; or rather I hold more than
two thirds of all I had, behevingthat they cannot eventually fall.
I may, however, sell sixty more, but not for less than those you
disposed of for me. They will, I am sure, soon rise in New-York,
as they are not to be had here ; and the Spanish treaty, which is
arrived, and is said to have secured the navigation of the Missisippi,
will give a new spring to that speculation. You will, without
doubt, close the business of your av 1 contract as soon as pos-
sible, that you m.ay have and employ the mioney to the best and
earhest advantage.

In great haete, yours,
F. Guilds, Es^. ^ J. DAYTON.

(IX.)

Pkilacklphia, March i, 1 796.
Dear Sip.,
Colonel Samuel TVard has probably informed you, that at
his request, and to accommodate Mr. Comfort Sands, I agree to
give up the bond and m.ortgage on the two lots, and take the
note of the one, endorsed by the other for the sum. My papers
are in the hands of Mr. Lawrence, to whom, with you, I have
referred the business. I will thank you for your attention to it,
and particularly to see that I am. made secure, as you knovv infi-
nitely better than I do the circumstances of the merchants or men
of business. If Colonel Ward should comply with my request,
and anticipate the payment of one third or one half, by giving
one note payable on the thirtieth of March, and postponing the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 213

reeding ten dollars for each j)erson." Judge Iredell
wished to persuade the Grand Jury of Pennsyl-
vania, upon the trial of Fries, that this clause was
only intended for blacks 3 but even allowing his

like proportion of it to a more distant time, it will obliTe mc,
but I would not insist upon it as t>.e cond tion of my compliance.
Will you be so obliging as to inform Mr. Lav/rence that I have
received his letter upon the subject of the new Insurance Compa-
ny about to be established in New- York, and I authoriz^^ him or
you, if you think it advisable, and subscribe for yourselves, to
pat down my name for twenty shares exclusively of the subscrip-
tion for the company. Have you yet received the money for the

w ts, or what prevents your receiving it ? The interest itself

on such a sum is of some consequence, even if no other injur}' can
arise from delay. Do you know their price at this time in New-
York ? It has been hinted to me, that the long expeded ratifi-
cation of the British treaty is arrived, and that the whole will be
promulgated by proclamation, in this evening's paper. The
Spanish treaty is now before the Senate, and is said to be very
favorable. It will, when known, undoubtedly give a new spring
to our land-office bill, and enhance the value of o«r western lands.
Yours with regard, JONA. DAYTON.

P. S. Mr. Denman, in course of conversation, has just men.
tioned that he sold 200 warrants on a credit of 30 days, at 51 dol-
lars. Have you made the change in the original contract ; or

^'•ere they other w ts.

F, Childs,

(No. X.)

Philadelphia, March 14, 1796.
Dear Sir,
I have drawn upon you this morning in favor of Matthias Den-
man, for four thousand dollars, payable in fourteen days from
the date.

You will, of course, take care to bring within your reach by
that time, so much of the proceeds of the sales of my w ts as

214 THE ADMINISTRATION

idea to be just, the Alien bill contained no excep-^
tion in favor of negroes more than whites : AUens
of every description, Europeans, Chinese and Afri-
cans were, by this bill, left at the mercy of the

\yill enable you to discharge the bill. Are you employing the
money to advantage, or is it still in the hands of the purchaser ?
and if so, what does he allow for the use of it ? How long no-
tice must be given you, if I should find it my interest to draw for
the residue ? A contract which I have lately made, will, if ful-
filled by the other party, impose on me an obligation to pay, by
instalments, about 3,500 dollars, six hundred of which are to be
on demand. He is disposed to make a considerable abatement
from the residue for prompt payment ; but not knowing what
vou are to receive, I cannot judge v/hether it is better to leave the
money where it is. You have, I find, organized your Insurance
Company, but the President is a man whose name I never before
heard. Do you know any thing yet respecting Capt. Landon,^
or do you expect to see before you hear from him ? Can you teli
the high eft pnee, obtainable in cash or on credit, with approved
notes, for 1 00 warrants ? It has become very problematical whe-
ther the rice speculation will prove as advantageous as was at first
expected.. ..what think you of it ? Have you heard from Capt.
Waddcll ? Yours with esteem,

JONA. DAYTON.
F. Cnilds, Esei'

(No. XL)

Philadelphia, March 24, 1796.
Dear Sir,
By Capt. Clay, of this town, who left Liverpool the 22d
Ult. we have an inundation cf nev/s....! inclose the hand-bill and
paper. You will readily perceive that the most important article,
under the head of the prehminary convention for peace, was a fa-
brication.

I advised you, in a former letter, of my having drawn upon
joxi for 4000 dollars, in favor of Mr. Denman ; I have since

OF JOHN ADAMS. 21.)

President, either to be buried in a dungeon or sent
to starve on some inhospitable shore. Neither
time nor money was allowed the unfortunate stran-
ger who had incurred the displeasure of Air. Adams,

heard nothing fiom him or you. It w as my wish to have been
informed, likewis-e, how the product of the warrants is situated,
and what compensation is to be allowed for its use, as a very
handsome offer had been made, which I could not accept until I
had advice from you. With sincere regard, yours,

F. Childs, EgZ' JONA. DAYTON.

(No. XII.)

Phiiadslphia, March 29, 1706.
Dear. Sir, \^Ekt:raci:.'\

The committee, yesterday, reported the land-ofBce bill, con-
formably to the alterations and amendments made in committee of
the whole house ; it is ordered to be printed, and when put into
■our hands a copy shall be sent.. ..my opinion is that the bill v^'ill

pass. On what terms are the 400 w ts offered you, on a

credit of 6 and 1 2 months ? Net so large can be had here on any
terms ; but I should wish to compare it first with the offers in this
place. In respect to the English treaty, it is my opinion that
every question relating to it, in every shape, will have an unfa-
vorable aspect towards it, except the last and most important one,
■viz. that of making appropriations, upon which occasion, I am
inclined to believe, there will be a majority for carrying it into
tffect. I request you, however, not to mention my name as an
authority for it, on account of my situation.

Yours with esteem,
r. Childs, Essk JONA. DAYTON.

(No. XIII.)

Philadelphia, Jpril 6, 1796.
Deaji Sir, [^Extract.^

I am pleased that you have made the arrangements which you
mention, respecting the sum of 5000 dollars, which remains or.

216 THE ADMiNISfRA HON

to enable him to return to his native country ; be
had only one elternative, either to rot in jail or em-
bark upon the ocean, perhaps without a farthing
in his pocket.

account of the w . The w you mention cannot, in my

opinion, but prove a good bargain at ^^y on a credit of 6 months .
you are, however, as capable of judging as myself. I have made
an offer for 200 here for myself, at nearly the same rate. We are
discussing the land-office bill, w^hich will undoubtedly pass, great
progress having been made in it yesterday.

Yours with esteem,
R Childs, Es^, J. DAYTON.

(No. XIV.)

Fhiladelphiai April 19, 1796.
Dear Sir,
I have received yours of the 15th. There were many reasons
which induced a wish that you would become equally concerned
with Mr. Lawrence and myself, in the house about to be formed
and established in New-York. ...it was therefore with pleasure 1
read your determination. In answer to your enquiries respecting
the English treaty, I assure you that I entertain an opinion dif-
ferent from the leaders of both parties.. ..they think that a majority
will refuse appropriations ; I do not think so, although it is highly
probable that such will be the first vote and decision. As in mi-
litary so in political contests, an unsteadiness or wavering in the
ranks on one side alv.'ays augurs an unfavorable issue to the party
where it is perceived* and rarely fails to produce flight, dismay and
defeat : Such symptoms are perceptible in the phalanx of the op-
posers of appropriations, and I own I shall be egregiously mista-
ken if (when it becomes a question of nerve) a sufficient number
do not tread back their ground to occasion a result very different
from that which present appearances indicate. They calculate
upon the number you mention, viz. 57, and say that they are cer-
tain, and cannot be diminished, but will probably be increased ; this
would, on account of absentees, make a majority of 15 ; too large a
number to be easily operated upon ; but this is no common case.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 217

It is amazing with what efTrontery Judge Ire-
dell labored to explain away the above clause. " It
is believed," says he, " that it was never suggest-
ed in any other couutry, that aliens had a right to

The section In the land-oiHce bill v/hich provided for the admission
of military warrants in a certain proportion, in payments, wai, up-
ou my suggesting that it would be more favorable and acceptable
to the army, to have a tract equal to the Wabash tract, appropria-
ted for military rights near the Sciota, struck out. There did
not appear to be a single member opposed to give such a tract in
lieu of the other plan, and the bill for locating military warrants
will be so amended. The disadvantages of the original plan were,
that warrants could only be introduced in proportion as the land
sold, for two dollars and upwards, and it could not be expected
that in this way, more than one thousand warrants would be ab-
sorbed in any one year ; as 600,000 acres was the largest quantity
calculated to be sold annually at those prices, and the sixth part .
thereof would require 1000 waiTants or 100,000 acres. On the
other plan the whole number which any man possesses may be lo-
cated and realized in tv/elve months, and that on lands good and
well situated. The prospect of their rising in value is, in my
opinion, fairer than it ever was, and I have, since the sale made by
you, purchased nearly ico for cash, 200 on a year's credit with le-
gal interest, and expect to get 2 or 300 more. What is their
price ^vith you, on a year's credit, with or v/ithout legal interest ?
Can any and what number be had upon a fudden demand and oc-
casion ? The contents of this letter are of such a nature as render
it improper to be seen by any except yourself... .burn it, therefore,
^vhen you have perused it, and believe me

Sincerely yours.
(No. XV.)

Philadelphia^ April 1 9, 1 796.
Dear Sir,
I have received your's of yesterday. The alarm which you
mention to prevail in the city of New- York, wiii be productive of

Ee

SIS TH£ ADMINISTRATION

go into a foreign country, and stay at their will and
pleasure, ' without any leave from the government."
Supposing this to be the case, the laws of other na-
tions could not supersede and do away an express

good rather than evil, although I am far from believing that
the present state of things v^^arrants it. The shock which private
credit is receiving, and the fall of produce, as well as the stagnation
of comnierce, even though it be temporary, are serious evils. Can-
not the friends of Livingston, Havens, Hathorn, Van Courtlandt
and Bayley, be induced to remonstrate seriously with them, a-
gainst their opposition to making the proper provision for carry-
ing the treaty into effect. Request Mr. Childs to make the at-
tempt, he or his friends must know who have the greatest influ-
ence with those gentlemen, and they will, I am sure, respect much
more the advice of their friends and supporters, immediately ad-
dressed to them personally, than that of a petition directed to the
House of Representatives. But I do not mean to discourage the
latter mode of declaring your sentiments ; but I recommend the
sending persons even into the districts of the mem.bers I have men-
tioned, in order to engage influential men to be active. There
will be time to do this, for the discussions will probably be very
kngthy»...or if they are not, the first vote will not be so conclu-
sive but that we may change, v/henever a few will come over from
the first majority. That majority is diminishing.. ..three from Ma-
ryland and the one from Jersey who voted for Livingston's resolu-
tion will now vote for carr}'ing the treaty into effect ; two New-
York members, and two or three are wavering, but are inclined to
the Virginia side, if the stir that is making does not shake their
nerves. Tell Mr. Childs they must be active, and appoint respec-
table committees to correspond in ail directions, excepting south of
ihe Potomack. Keep up, for a time, the spirit that is now fer-
menting, and all wull yet be well. My opinion is, that your ar-
rangements and estabhshment in New-York should go forward, for
I cannot persuade myself that a majority will persist in their op-
position, or that if they do, the consequences v,-ill be so important

OF JOHN ADAiMS, 219

article in our Constitution, which allowed the im-
portation of aliens for a specified time. America,
however, is not the only country which held out
this protection for foreigners.... in Great Britain,

as are apprehended. This is intended for you and Mr. Child s
only, as I would not say any thing which would tend to relax the
laudable exertions which are about to be made. The purchase
you hint at, may, I beheve, be made advantageously, if you caa
hit upon the price when it is at its lowest. Should you be very
much pressed for money, I can accommodate you here for a num-
ber of days, and until you are more in cash^ with the 750 dollars.
Yours with esteem, JONA. DAYTON.

(No. XVI.)

Ph'dadelphlay May 13M, 1796.
Dear Sir,

Your's of yesterday is received. The 3000 dollars which I ask-;
fd to be remitted from Mr. Denning before the adjournments, will
not probably be wanted before the 24th or 25th, as our session will
necessarily be prolonged a few days beyond the time contemplated.
I will join with you in the purchase of the 462 vv. and am' wilhng
that Mr. Lawrence should be concerned also, if he wishes it. En-
quire when you go to the city next week, whether any other con-
siderable quantity may be had, and on what terms, and give me im-
mediate information, and at the same time, where you will be on
each day next week, whether in E . Town or N. York. I have
sometimes thought it might be advisable to form a company to
purchase all the floating w. and afterwards locate them ; but some
inconvenience would attend such a partnership v/hich rather deteis

me from it. Who are these in the city that are purchasing w

with an intention to hold and locate them ? I will write by to-
morrow's mail and send you the last report of the land-office com-
mittee. Yours, JONA. DAYTON.

P. S. Dehver the enclosed Register to Mr. Lawrence, who,
will probably be at hcMne on Sunday.

[Mr. Dayton has since withdrawn his suit after paying the

220 THE ADMINISTRATION

before the Alien bill passed, they enjoyed the same
privilege of residence as citizens.

Respecting the Sedition act, it is entirely incom-
patible with the following amendment to the Con-
stitution : " Congress shall make no law respect-
ing an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
full exercise thereof, or abridging the Ireedom of
speech, or of the press, or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the govern-
ment for a redress of grievances."

Judge Iredell's sole defence of this bill rests
upon the supposition, that it was not intended
to affect the liberty of the press, and he is forced
to acknowledge, that the above clause in the Se-
dition act, renders v^id any law which would
have that tendency. But it is no difficult mat-
ter to prove, notwiihstanding the ingenious sub-
tlety of the judge's argument, that the Sedition
law, struck directly at the vitals of that inesti-
mable right.. ..It imposed a fine of two thousand
dollars, upon every person wlio should write or
publish, or cause to be written or published, a
libel against the government of the United States,
or either House of Congress, or against the Pre-
sident ; and by the trials which took place, it
may be seen, that any publication wliich did not
approve of the measures of government, and the
conduct of the Executive, was construed into a

costs ; which is an evident proof of the justice of the answers of
Mr. Marston and Mr. Childs, and the injustice of his own com-
plaint.]

Oh' JOHN ADAMS. 221

Jibel. The prosecutions of Lyon and Callender,
of Cooper and Holt, are the best commentary upon
the Sedition law. The names of these gentlemen
will be quoted in support of the liberty of the
press, and of the tyranny of Mr. Adams, when
the labored arguments of Paterson and Peters,
of Iredell,* Addison and Chcise, are no longer re-
membered, f

Dr. James Smith and Mr. Burk, of New- York,

the former a citizen and the latter an alien, were
among the first who were arrested upon the Sedi-
tion act. They were the editors of a newspaper
called the Time-Piece, and had inserted a para-
graph which did not meet with the approbation
of the President. An antipathy of a long stand-
ing had existed between Mr. Adams and the
Doctor. Smith is a native of America ; he went
to Britain before the declaration of our indepen-
dence, and afterwards passed over to France.
There he got acquainted w^ith Mr. Adams w^hen
at Paris, in the year 1777. But these two poli-
ticians did not long agree. ...the open republican-
ism of the Doctor could not accord with the sly
and Jesuitical policy of the American negociator ;
they w^ere also rivals in other pursuits. The city
of Paris is the grand theatre for amusing sport and
amorous intrigue. Both Mr. Adams and Doctor

* Judge Iredell died a few months after the trial of Fries-
f The EfTay of Hortensius, and Mr. Wortman's Treatise

on Political Enquiry, may be consulted with considerable profit

on this subject.

222 THE ADMINISTRATION

Smith were desirous of exhibiting their youthful
talents, and of displaying to the metropolis of Eu-
ropean fashion, the gallantry of the new v/orld. In
these respects Dr.Smith had infinitely the advantage;
his lively wit and jeu-d'esprir were more acceptable
to the Parisian ladies than the dull and phlegmatic
humor of Mr. Adams. This circum^ance, joined to
a difference in political opinion, created an irrepa-
rable breach between them, which was not forgot
by the one when raised to the elevated station of
President of the United States, or by the other in
the more humble capacity of a newspaper editor.
When Mr. Adams heard of the Doctor's intention
to return to his native country, at the commence-
ment of the present war, he exhibited signs of dis-
pleasure and uneasiness ; probably he dreaded that
some of the frolics in which he acted the part of a
lifeless Punch at the palace of Vergennes, would
be brought to light, and that Americans would
hear with surprise, that instead of a diplomatic
character, they had sent a buffoon to the Court of
Versailles.

Whether from American or British influence,
certain it is, that Doctor Smith could, with the
greatest difficulty procure an American captain to
carry him to New-York, and even after he had en-
gaged with one, the vessel, either by accident or de-
sign, run aground upon the English coast, and no-
tice was sent to the British ministry and the Ameri-
can ambassador that Smith was on board ; but n©

OF JOHN ADiUlS. 22S

puVlic steps for his detention being taken, he was
allowed to proceed for his native country.

Burk knowing, as he Avas an alien, that he
would not only receive the punishment which a fed-
eral court would generously bestow, but be after-
wards compelled to leave the United States, thought
it most prudent to take himself off without waiting
for the issue of a trial. The Time-Piece was, in
consequence, dropped, and this being the point
which Mr. Adams wished to accomplish, the trial
of Dr. Smith was never brought forward.

Althou2:h the Sedition law had now for some
time been employed in holding the citizens in sub-
jection, and preventing them from a mutual commu-
nication of their griefs and injuries, yet it was never
supposed, that Mr. Adams would venture to ex-
tend the same scourge of power to the Represent-
atives of the people. This was a step for which he
could borrow no precedent even from England, the
government of which he so much admired. ...he was
also conscious of the danger of the attempt, and
probably would never have tried the experiment,
had it not been for the urgent entreaties of h'lf.
Secretaries, Timothy Pickering and Oliver Wolcott.
These active inquisitors entertained an implacable
aversion towards Colonel Mathew Lyon. They
dreaded the open honesty of his tongue, and the
rough though just censure of his pen. They knew
while this patriot was at large, it would be impos-
sible to cancel truth and lull into lethargy the citizens

!?24 THE AD-\TINlSiRATION

of Vermont and the eastern States. But were he de-
prived of the use of his literary arms, even for a few
months, they had hopes that in this tim.e, they might
draw the chains of slavery so far over his unhappy
countrymen, as afterwards to defy both the force of
patriotism and the love of liberty to remove.

The loss of no occurrence in the Judiciary courts
of America, ought so much to be regretted as an
accurate statement of this trial. The ri^;id disci-
pline practised in the Federal court, in which Judge
Paterson presided, prevented even the Printer of the
Vergennes Gazette from taking notes. The mis-
erable account, therefore, printed in most of the
public papers, was the production of one of Lyon's
jury, whose name,, like that of the traitor Arnold,
must fill every honest mind w^ith indignation and
scorn.

Thus circumstanced, it is only practicable to
relate the leading occurrences that took place on
that occasion :

On Friday, the 5th of October, 1798, the grand
jury of Vergennes brought into court an indict-
ment containing three counts against Colonel Ma-
thew Lyon, Representative for Vermont. The first
of which charged Mr. Lyon with writing a letter
to Mr. Spooner, printer of the Windsor paper, pub-
lished on the 31st of July last, containing artful and
indirect accusations against the President of the
United States ; importing corruption in his appoint-
ment of men to oflice, displacing and " rejecting
men of age, experience, wisdom and independency

OF JOHN ADAMS. 225

of sentiment,'* and insinuating that he is devoted to
a fondness for " ridiculous pomp, idle parade and
selfish avarice." The second and third counts v^ere
for uttering, pubUshing and printing, of certain
parts of a letter, said to be from an x\merican di-
plomatic character in France, (commonly called the
Barlow letter) "abusing, in amost virulent manner,
the President and Senate of the United States ; and
particularly for their conduct towards France."

The indictment contained inuendoes in com-
mon form, and' averments of the " intention of the
defendant to stir up sedition, and to bring the Pre-
sident and government of the United States into
contempt, &:c."

Mr. Lyon was apprehended and brought be-
fore the court on Saturday morning, put to plead,
and desired to name his counsel. He pleaded not
guilty, and informed the court that he had sent to
Bennington for Jonathan Robinson and David
Fay, Escirs. to be his counsel, but that he did not
expect them until Monday,... he v/as, therefore, ad-
mitted to bail, and the court put the cause over to
Monday. Accordingly, on that day at ll o'clock,
Mr. Lyon was called ; he observed that his counsel
had not arrived, and requested a postponement :
the court adjourned to 11 o'clock; he again re-
quested a postponement, and the court, after some
hesitation, adjourned to 12 o'clock.

At twelve the court opened, and Mr. Lyon
informed the court that he chose to proceed to trial,
although his counsel from Bennington had not ar-

Ff

)^'26 THE ADxMlNISTRATION

rived. He sent for Judge Israel Smith to advo-
cate his cause, who declined being particularly as-
signed as counsel, but at Mr. Lyon's desire he sat
by him during the trial and advised.

After a statement of the case by Charles Marsh,
the attorney of the United States, Mr. Lyon enter-
ed upon his defence. He began by observing, 1st,
that the court had no jurisdiction of the cause, for
that the law of Congress was unconstitutional and
void. 2d, that the publications were innocent ;
and 2d, that the contents were true. This he
said he wauld prove by Judge Paterson, and his
friend. Judge Smith. He accordingly asked Judge
Paterson if he had not frequently dined with the
President, and observed his ridiculous pomp and
parade : The latter shook his head, smacked his
lips and recalled to his memory the convivial de-
bauch. " Mr. Lyon," says he, " I have sometimes
dined wdtli the President, but in place of pomp and
parade have seen a great deal of hospitality with-
out much ceremony.'* Mr. Lyon then enquired
whether he did not see more pomp and servants
there than at the tavern where he lodged at Rut-
land. The Judge, conscious that there was some
difference between the table of Braintree and the
humble fare of a country tavern, with the privilege
of half a bed, made no reply, but smoked a segar.
Judge Smith was not examined ; and Mr. Lyon
proceeded to read several parts of the publications
complained of, upon which he made several perti-
nent and judicious remarks. The cause was then*

OF JOHN ADAMS. 227-"

argued by Mr. Marsh, on the part of the United'
States, and by Mr. Lyon for himself.

The charge of Judge Paterson was neither
candid nor perspicuous, but abounded in sophistry ;■
if it had been preserved it would afford an illustri-
ous specimen of federal talents and federal recti-^^
tude.

The jury retired at eight o'clock in the evening-
and brought in their verdict of guilty about nine.

The court called on the prisoner to shew cause
wherefore judgment should not be pronounced a-
gainst him ; also to give any information he pleased^
that might serve to reduce the fine. Mr. Lyon re-
quested time until the next morning, w^hich the*
court according-lv s^rantcd.

On Tuesday, when the court met, he informed
them " that he very lately possessed property
which he estimated at 20,000 dollars, and had con-
veyed it to certain persons who w^ere bound for his
debts, amounting to about 1600 dollars.. ..he did
not know that he could command 200 dollars by
his property, but he confessed he was worth more-
than any sum it was in the power of the court to
impose on him as a fine."

He also complained " that the juries were pack-
ed, and brought from towns which were known
to be inimical to him, for the purpose of crushing
him ; that he was hurried on to trial, and there-
fore was not prepared."

Judge Paterson, after commenting upon the
heinous crime of attempting to ridicule the Presi-

228 THE ADMINISTRATION

dent, passed sentence on him in the following
words :

'' Mathew Lyon, it is the pleasure of this court
that you be imprisoned four months, pay costs and
a fine of one thousand dollars, and stand committed
untilthe judgment be complied with."

Colonel Lyon was then conducted out of court
and thrown into a dungeon six feet square, where
he was left to starve during a rigorous winter.
The character of this patriot cannot be better de-
scribed than in the words of Dr. Graham, in his
sketch of Vermont :

"Fairhaven joins on Skeensborough, and is the
most flourishing: town in the State : it owes it*s
consequence to it's founder, Colonel Lyon, whose
enterprise and perseverance in carrying on mianu-
factories, has been of infinite utility to the public,
to the o^ratitude of which he has the stronjjest
claimiS. He has erected a furnace for casting all
kinds of hollow iron ware, and two forges, a slitting-
mill for the making of nail rods, a paper-mill, a
printing press, and corn and saw-mxl]ls....It is a
curious fact, that Colonel Lyon has executed a
good deal of printing at his office, on paper manu-
factured by himself, of the bark of the bass-wood
tree, and which is found to answer every purpose
for common printing. He has held some of the
first offices in the state, and no mian in it can be
more qualified to do so, as his knowledge of the
finances and situation of the country is scarcely to
be equalled 3 nor does his integrity eversufler him

OF JOHN ADAMS. 229

to lose sight of the real good of the people.. ..His
friendship and generosity are as great as his am-
bition....his passions and all his pursuits flow from
the noblest feelings of the heart ; they are all ex-
erted for the benelii; of mankind, and not only
endear him to my esteem, but secure to him the
respect and affection of all those who are happy
in his acquaintance, or who have a knowledge of
his character."

The cruelty of jacobinism has been compared
to the horrors of the Jersey prison-ship -, but the
barbarity of either will hardly bear a comparison
with the Federal tortures that were practised under
the name of oeconomy, upon the crews of two French
vessels, the Sanspareil and the Jaloux. ...These
ships had been captured by some of Mr. Adams's
armed cruisers, and the men confined from the 20th
of September until the 6th of November, 1798,
in the small prison of New-Castle. The following
extract from a letter inserted in the Aurora, de-
scribes their treatment and their situation : " They
have not been allowed a basket to contain the
provisions which private humanity bestowed upon
them ; a single pot serves for every species of vessel
for sixty men ; locked up at night, they are under
the necessity of making use of their hats, their
shoes, their handkerchiefs and their shirts, to con-
tain those excretions from which nature has not
exempted an individual of the animal creation.
They have been without a separate apartment for
the sick, nor have they been granted the most

230 T«TE ADMINISTRATION-

trifling Utensil to prepare or administer to the sick,,
the few medicines which they have left. They are
totally destitute of w^arm cloathing, and the naked
. iloor of the room, often wet, is the place where they
may repose during the night. Men not long from
a tropical climate, men long estranged from the
rigors of a northern winter, may, without being
deemed unreasonable, call this treatment cruel.

*' Two of their number have literally perished
since their confinement in the prison.... one died
through vv^ant, it not being in the power of his com-
panions to administer medicines ; and the other
fell a victim to the severity of the cold. Two others
must have paid the last debt to nature had it not
been for the humane attention of the inhabitants of
New-Castle, to whom they owe their protracted ex-
istence. These acts of humanity were attributed
by a pettifogger of the same place, to some lurking
remains of friendship for the French 3 but his wick-
edness v/as of no avail. '^ The letter adds, that the
people of New- Castle supplied them with clothes,
without which, they say, that many of them must
have perished. On the day the letter was wrote,
they were, for the first time, visited by Mr. Robert
Hamilton, Commissary of Prisoners ; they com-
plained to him, but were answered, " that govern-
ment allowed nothing, and if they had no friends
they might perish.'*

Whatever barbarities may have been commit-
ted by the French upon their prisoners, the follow-
ing fact ought to make Americans blush : A car-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 231

tel in the end of 1798, was sent from this country
to Bourdeaux with seventy French prisoners. They
were shut up in a small steerage, with hardly wa-
ter and meat for six men. Twelve died of hunger
during the passage, six after being landed, and the
others were so sick and so much enfeebled that lit-
tle hopes were entertained of their recovery.

I only mention these circumstances with a view
of showing the danger of vesting an unlimited con-
fidence in the officers of government. The best
men and the warmest patriots ought to be watched
with a jealous eye. Wealth and povv^er render cal-
lous the most tender passions, and shade with a
mantle of vice the brightest virtues.

Among the federal frauds committed this year,
the case of Joseph Ball deserves particular notice.
This man, with several others, were holders of bills
of credit, issued in pursuance of a resolution of
Congress, dated March 18th, 1780. These bills
were to be paid out of the funds of individual States ;
but as credit of this nature was not sufficient for
circulating the paper. Congress passed an act which
contains the following clause : " that the said new
bills, issue on the funds of individual States for that
purp jse established, and be signed by persons ap-
pointed by them, and that the faith of the United
States be also pledged for the payment of the said
bills, in case any State, on whose funds they shall
be emitted, should, by the events of war, be render-
ed incapable of redeeming them."

232 THE ADMlNlSfRATlON

A memcrial respecting these bills was present-
ed to the House of Representatives in the month
of March, 1798, by Ball and the others concerned....
a committee was appointed to examine their claims.
This committee, in their report, quotes the above
clause, and then adds the following observations :
** The interest accruing on them (viz. the bills) was
to have been paid by the United States annually,
if called for, in bills of e:: change on Europe, and
the amount charged to the States respectively. It
does not appear, however, that any such payments
were made." The interest was several times call-
ed for, but never paid 5 so that in the beginning
Congress broke their bargain.

The report then remarks, that the greater part
of those bills had been redeem.ed by the States
which stood indebted for them, and adds, that *'the
bills for which payment is now demanded, are
chiefly of those issued by the States of New-Hamp'
shire, Massachusetts and Rhode-Island. This spe-
cies of paper has never been considered as form-
ing any part of the debt of the United States ; in the
various arrangements which have been made since
the establishment of the present government rela-
tive to the debt of the United States, no provision
has ever been made for those bills." This appears
a strange assertion, for the indorsement upon each
of them stood thus : *' The United States ensure the
payment of the within bill, and will draw bills of
exchange for the interest, annually, if demanded.'*

OF JOHN ADAMS. 233

At the end of eighteen years this interest is de-
manded ; and the committee report, that the en-
dorsers are not o'oHged to pay it although the en-
dorsement is not denied.

The committee next observe, that on January
16th, 1795, Mr, Wolcott reported to Congress up-
on these^bills, which the holders had lodged for
payment at the Treasury office. The total amount
of the principal sums was ninety thousand five hun-
dred and seventy-five dollars. The Secretary's plan
of redemption I shall give in his own words, viz.
that these bills " should be provided for by taking
the principal sum of them, without interest, on
loan, at five per cent, payable quarter-yearly, re-
deemable at the pleasure of the United States, and
payable in thirty years.'*

As Mr. Wolcott admits the claim was just, the
interest certainly became as much due as the prin-
cipal sum. At the same time when the committee
made their report, the simple interest amounted
to nearly the original sum. In 1798, the money
had been owing for eighteen years, and the bills
were to bear an interest, according to the original
terms of agreement, at five per cent. The interest,
therefore, came to eighty -one thousand, five hun-
dred and nine dollars and sixty cents. ...if it had
been paid annually, as in justice it ought to have
been, it would have amounted vastly higher; for
the creditors would then have reaped the advan-
tage of compound interest. Supposing this to have
been the case, the account will stand thus :

231' THE ADMINISTRATION

Dollars.
Principal Sum - - - 90,574

Compound Interest for fourteen years
and an hundred and five days, at
5 per cent. - - - - 90,674
Do. Interest for -the next four years

about . - - - # 41,200

Total sum, 222,148
If this collective sum be divided into five equal
parts, the interest will make exactly three out of
these Rve parts. In other words, if Mr. Wol-
cott's plan had been adopted, the creditors would
have been practically and in substance, defrauded
out of three fifths of their money. They would
have been just in the situation of a man who re-
ceives a bankrupt composition of eight shillings
per pound.

Upon this scheme of the Secretary, Mr. Bail
and the other bill-holders would have made a m5st
pitiful bargain. It would have been singular in
any other man but Mr. Wolcott to have proposed
such a heavy reduction, after acknowledging in the
strongest and fullest terms, the justice of the whole
debt. But the nefarious inconsistencies of the ci-
devant Secretary of the Treasury are notorious.
The committee then proceed thus : " Good faith
demands that the United States should supply the
omissions of the States which issued the bills, by
providing themselves at the least for the interest
upon them J but it is not easy to pronounce on

OF JOHN ADAMS/ 23£t,

what terms they ought to be provided for".... it is
granted, however, by the committee, that Con-
gress were bound to provide for the interest on
some terms or other. " It is a well known fact,"
contmuesthe report, " that these bills sunk in the
same vortex of depreciation with the old continent-
al bills, and while they continued to circulate,
were generally in the ratio of forty of the old for
one of the new. This unfortunate depreciation,
which operated upon all the paper money notes
and certificates, issued during the war, necessitated
the United States to adopt principles relative to
them, which cannot apply in case of ordinary con-
tract. The States, individually, have assumed sim*»
ilar privileges, and in making provision for the
bills in question, in some instances have consider-
ed them as depreciated currency. The committee
are informed, that all the States who issued bills of
this description, have already made provision for
their redemption either at their nominal amount, or-
a certain ratio of depreciation^, except the State of
Rhode-Island ^ and they think, it is fairly to be
presumed, that the States have m.ade as liberal a
provision as the nature of the case demanded. The
United States have once made allowances to the
several States, in settlements of their accounts for
the supplies for which those bills were issued ;
should they make any further provision, they must
consider the several States as indebted to them for
the amount of such provision.

236 THE ADMINISTRATION

" From an attentive consideration of all the
circumstances of this case, which the committee
have endeavored fully to examine and present to
the view of the House, they are of opinion, that it
will not be expedient for Congress to make any
provision for the payment of the said biils, or any
interest thereon ; they therefore recommend, that
the petitioners respectfully have leave to withdraw
their petitions."

The House of Representatives agreed to the
report, and Ball and his fellowr sufferers were obli-
ged to submit to the fraud.

CHAPTER VIIL

Meeting of Congress.,.. Speech of the Fresideni.,..
Remarks.. . .Impeachment of Blount. . . .Gerry s dis-
patches....Story of the female spy and her tubs of
seditious papers .,.. Acts passed by Congress,

On Monday, the 3d of December, the third
session of the fifth Congress commenced ; but eight
members being absent from the Senate of the num-
ber necessary to form a quorum, the President did
not meet them until the 8th. A melancholy gloom
was diffused over the countenances both of the
Senators and the Representatives. They had as-
sembled at the close of the greatest pestilence y\me-
rica had yet experienced, and there were few of
them who had not to lament the loss of some par-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 237

ticular friend or acquaintance. Even the President
himself, whose feelings are not the most tender,
seemed deeply aiTected, and for the first time, ap-
peared to sympaihlse with the sufferings of the
people. This temporary compassion might, how-
ever, have proceeded from a different cause : A-
midst-the flattering compliments of Timothy Pick-
ering, Oliver Wolcott, and a train of federal cour-
tiers, it was impossible Mr. Adams could dis-
guise from himself, that he had incurred the con-
tempt and hatred of every man of honesty and vir-
tue in the United States. The dungeon in which
the Vermont patriot was starving, must, in the sol-
itary moments of silent rei]dction, have stared him
in the face,'*and reminded him of the fate his crimes
deserved. The just apprehension of a guilty con-
science, heightened, perhaps, by the calamity with
which America had been afRicted, and not the
praise-worthy compassion of a generous mind, was
most probably the cause of that unusual diffidence
and appearance of sorrow which he exhibited in
delivering the following speech :

^^ Gentlemen of the House of Representatives,
" While with reverence and resignation we con-
template the dispensations of Divine Providence,
in the alarming and destructive pestilence whh
which several of our cities and towns have been
visited, there is cause for gratitude and mutual
congratulations that the malady has disappeared,
and that we are again permitted to assemble in
safety, at the seat of government, for the discharge

238 THE ADMINISTRATION

of our important duties. ...but when we reflect that
this fatal disorder has, within a few years made re-
peated ravages in some of our principal sea-ports,
and with increased m.alignancy ; and when we con-
sider the magnitude of the evils arising from the
interruption of public and private business, where-
by the national interests are deeply affected, I
think it my duty to invite the legislature of the
union to examine the expediency of establishing
suitable regulations in aid of the health-lav/s of the
respective states ; for these being formed on the-
idea, that contagious sickness may be commiuni-
cated ihrough the channels of commerce, there
seems to be a necessity that Congress, who alone
can regulate trade, should frame a system, which,
while it may tend to preserve the general health,
may be compatible with the interests of commerce,
and the safety of the revenue.

" While we think on this calamity, and sym-
pathise with the immediate sufferers, we have a-
bundant reason to present to the Suprem.e Being,
our annual obligations of gratitude, for a liberal
participation in the ordinary blessings of his pro-
vidence : to the usual subjects of gratitude I cannot
omit to add one of the first importance to our well-
being and safety....! mean the spirit which has
arisen in our country against the menaces and ag-
gressions of a foreign nation. A meanly sense of
national honor, dignity and independence has
appeared, which, if encouraged and invigorated
by every branch of the government^ will enable

OF JOHN ADAMS, 259

US to view, undismayed, the enterprises of any fo-
reign power, and become the sure foundation of
national property and glory.

*' The course of the transactions ia relation to
the United States and France, which have come to
my knowledge during your recess, will be made
the subject of a future communication. That
communication will confirm the ullim.ate failure of
the measures which have been taken by the gov-
ernment of the United States, towards an amicable
adjustment of differences with that power. You
will, at the same time, perceive that tiie French
government appears solicitous to impress the opin-
ion, that it is averse to a rupture with this country,
and that it has in a qualified manner, declared itself
willing to receive a minister from the United States,
for the purpose of restoring a good understanding.
It is unfortunate for professions of this kind, that
they should be expressed in terms which may coun-
tenance the inadmissable pretension of a right, to
drescribe the qualifications which a minister from
the United States should possess, and that while
France is asserting the existence of a disposition on
her part to conciliate with sincerity the differences
which have arisen, the sincerity of a Hke disposi-
tion on the part of the United States, of which so
many demonstrative proofs have been given, should
even be indirectly questioned. It is also worthy of
observation, that the decree of the Directory, al-
ledged to be intended to restrain the depredations
of French cruisers on our commerce, has not given.

210 THE ADMINISTRATION'

and cannot give any relief; it enjoins them to con-
form to all the laws of France, relative to cruising
and prizes, while these laws are themselves the
sources of the depredations of which we have so
long, so justly, and so fruitlessly complained.

" The law of France, enacted in January last,
which subjects to capture and condemnation neutral
vessels and their cargoes, if any portion of the lat-
ter are of British fabric or produce, although the
entire property belong to neutrals, instead of being
rescinded, has lately received a confirmation by the
failure of the proposition for its repeal. V/hile this
law, which is an unequivocal act of war on the com-
merce of the nation it attacks, continues in force,
those nations can see in the French government on-
ly a power regardless of their essential rights, of
their independence and sovereignty, and if they
possess the means, they can reconcile nothing with
their interest and honor but a firm resistance,

" Hitherto, therefore, nothing is discoverable
in the conduct of France which ought to change
or release our measures of defence ; on the con-
trary to extend and vigorate them, is our true po-
licy. We have no reason to regret that those
measures have been thus far adopted and pursued,
and in proportion as we enlarge our view of the
portentous and incalculable situation of Europe,
we shall discover new and cogent motives, for the
full developement of our energies and resources.

" But in demonstrating by our conduct, that
we do not fear war^ in the necessary protection of

OF JOHN ADAMS, 211

oar rights and honor, we shall give no room to
infer that we abandon the desire of peace.... an
efficient preparation for war can alone ensure peace.
It is peace that we have uniformly and persever-
ingly cultivated ; and harmony between us and
France may be restored at her option ; but to send
another minister, without more determinate assu-
rances that he would be received, would be an act
of humiliation to which the United States ought
not to submit; it must therefore be left to France,
if she is indeed desirous of accom.modation, to take
the requisite steps ; the United States will readily
observe the niaxinis by which they have hitherto
been governed ; they will respect the sacred rights
of embassy ; and with a sincere disposition on the
part of France, to desist from hostility, to make
reparation for the injuries heretofore inflicted on
our commerce, and to do justice in future, there
will be no obstacles to the restoration of a friendly
intercourse. In making to you this declaration, I
give a pledge to France snd to the world, that the
executive authority of this country still adheres to
the humane and pacific policy which has invaria-
bly governed its proceedings, in conformity with
the v/ishes of the other branches of the government
and of the people of the United States. But consi-
dering the late manifestations of her policy towards
foreign nations, I deem it a duty deliberately and
solemnly to declare my opinion, that whether we
negociate with her or not, vigorous preparations
for war will be alike indispensalle....*hese alone

II h

•242 ^THE ADMINISTRATION

will give us an equal treaty, and ensure its observ-
ance.

'' Among the measures of preparation which
appear expedient, I take the liberty to recai your
attention to the naval establishment. The benefi-
cial effects of the small naval armament, provided
under the acts of the last session, are known and
acknov/ledged ; perhaps no country ever experien-
ced more sudden and remarkable advantages from
any measure of policy than we have derived from
the arming for our maritime protection and defence.
We ought, without loss of time, to lay the founda-
tion for an increase of our navy, to a size sufficient
to guard our coasts and protect our trade. Such a
naval force, as is doubtless in the power of the
United States to create and maintain, would also
afibrd to them the best means of general defence,
by facilitating the safe transportation of troops and
stores to every part of our extensive coasts. To
accomplish this important object, a prudent fore-
sight requires that systematical measures be adopt-
ed for procuring, at all times, the requisite timber
and other supplies. In what manner this shall be
done I leave to your consideration.

'^ I will now advert, gentlemen, to som.e matters
of less moment, but proper to be communicated
to the national legislature.

"After the Spanish garrisons had evacuated the
posts which they occupied at the Natchez and the
AValnut Hills, the Commissioner of the United
States commenced his observations to ascertain the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 24o

point near the Missisippi, wliich terminated the
northern-most part of the thlrty-iirst degree of north
latitude. From thence he proceeded to run the
boundary line between the United States and Spain,
He was afterwards joined by the Spanish Commis-
sioner, when the work of the former was confirmed 3
and they proceeded together to the demarcation
of the line. Recent information renders it proba-
ble, that the northern Indians, either instigated to
opppose the demarcation, or jealous of the conse-
quences of suffering white people to run aline over
lands to w^iich the Indian title had not been extin-
guished, have, ere this time, stopped the progress
of the Commissioners. ...and considering the mis-
chiefs which may result from continuing the de-
marcation in opposition to the will of the Indian
tribes, the great expence attending it, and that the
boundaries which the Commissioners have actually
established, probably extend at least as far as the
Indian title has been extinguished, it will, per-
haps, become expedient and necessary to suspend
further proceedings, by recalling our Commissioner.
** The Commissioners appointed in pursuance
of the fifth article of the Treaty of Amity, Com-
merce and Navigation, between the United States
and his Britannic Majesty, to determine v/hat river
was truly intended under the name of the river St.
Croix, mentioned in the treaty of peace, and form-
ing a part of the boundary therein described, have
finally decided that question. On the twenty-fifth
of October, they made their declaration, that a river

^4'4' THE ADMINISTxlATlON

called Scoodiac, which falls into Passamaquoddy
Bay, at its north-western quarter, was the true St.
Croix intended in the treaty of peace, as far as it's
creat fork, where one of its streams comes from the
westward and the other from the northward, and
that the latter stream is the continuation of the
St. Croix to its source. This decision, it is under-
stood, will preclude all contention among individu-
al claimants, as it seems that the Scoodiac, and its
northern branch, bound the grants of land which
have been made by the respective adjoining gov-
ernments. A subordinate que^stion, however, it has
been suggested, still remains to be determined.
Betvv-een the mouth of the St. Croix, as now settled,
and what is usually called the Bay of Fundy, lie
a number of valuable islands : The Commissioners
have not continued the boundary line through any
channel of these islands ; and unless the Bay of
Passamaquoddy be a part of the Bay of Fundy, this
further adjustment of boundary will be necessary:
But it is apprehended that this will not be a matter
of any difficulty.

" Such progress has been made in the examina-
tion and decision of cases of capture and condem-
nation of American vessels, which were the subject
of the seventh article of the Treaty of Amity, Com-
merce and Navigation between the United States
and Great Britain, that it is supposed the Commis-
sioners will be able to bring their business to a con-
clusion in August of the ensuing year.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 24^5

" The Commissioners, acting under the 21st
article of the treaty between the United States and
Spain, have adjusted most of the claims of our ci-
tizens, for losses sustained in consequence of their
vessels and cargoes having been taken by the sub-
jects of his Cr.tholic Majesty, during the war be-
tween France and Spain.

" V^arious circumstances have occurred to delay
the execution of the law for augmenting the milita-
ry establishment ; among these the desire of obtain-
ing the full^^st information to direct the best selec-
tion of officers. As this object will now be speedily
accomplished, it is expected that the raising and
organizing of the troops Vv^ll proceed without ob-
stacle and with effect.

" Gentlemen of the House of Representatives^

" I have directed an estimate of the appropri-
ations, which will be necessary for the service of
the ensuing year to be laid before you, accompani-
ed with a view of the public receipts and expen-
ditures to a recent perusal. It will 'afford you sa-
tisfaction, to infer the great extent and solidity of
the public resources, from the prosperous state of
the finance, notwithstanding the unexampled em-
barrassments which have attended commerce.
When you reflect on the conspicuous examples of
patriotism and liberality which have been exhibited
by our mercantile fellow-citizens, and how great
a proportion of the public resources depends on
their enterprise, you Vv'ill naturally consider, wiie-
ther their convenience cannot be promoted and re-

215 THH ADMINISTRATION

concllcd \vith the security of the revenue, by a
revibion of the system, by Vv^hich the collection is
at present regulated.

'^ During your recess, measures have been stea-
dily pursued for effecting the valuations and returns
directed by the act of the last session, prcHminary
to the assessment and collection of a direct tax.
No other delays or obstacles have been experienced,
except such as were expected to arise from the
great extent of our country, and the magnitude
and novelty of the operation j and enough has
been accomplished to assure a fulfilment of the
views of the lea:islature.

** Geiiikvden of the Senate, and

" Gentlemen of the House of Representatives y

^^ I cannot close this address without once
more adveri:ing to our political situation, and in-
culcating the essential importance of uniting in the
maintenance of our dearest interests ; and I trust,
that by the temper and wisdom of your proceedings,
2nd by a harmony of miCasures, we shall secure to
our country that weight and respect to which it is
So justly intil-ed.'*

This speech of Mr. Adams forms the fourth
specimen of the political oratory which graced the
Presidential chair during the anglo-federal admin-
istration. Among the many formsand usages which
America has borrowed from her mother-country,
that of a President's Speech, at the beginning of
every session, appears to be one of the most unfor-

OF JOHN ADAMS. :?I7

lunate^, though one which h.as been cultivated with
the greatest zeal.

A few lines of a complimentary address to
the parliament of Britain, the studied composi-
tion of the minister of state, but delivered by the
Icing, has given rise to the annual habit of an hour's
declamation from the President of America, how-
ever trivial the circum.stances of his communication
may be, or however unfitted our chief-magistrate
himself is for such a task. Although the speeches
of our present President will ever form a ccn-
■spicuous figure in the annals of rhetoric, it is not
to be supposed his successors will all have the same
strength of mind or power of language. The ad-
dresses of the venerable Washingrton are no lonsfer
Temembered, and the lengthy orations delivered by
Mr. Adams are now read with disgust ; but the
province of impartial history requires their inser-
tion. A careful perusal of them will also repay the
patient reader, who wishes to be acquainted with
the designs of the late administration, as they show
the character of Mr. Adams in a more conspicu-
ous light than all his other productions.

The main topic of this last speech is our late dif-
ference with France. Mr. Adams says " that the Di-
rectory questioned the sincerity of our administra-
tion towards peace." They certainly did so, and
upon the best grounds. Our love for peace was
never to be demonstrated by an evident partiality to
the measures of Grenville and Pitt, and by virulence
and contumely towards the Republicans of France.

248 THE ADMINISTRATION

A desire fcr peace surely was not to be displayed
by appointing men for our envoys whose principles
were known to be of a monarchical bias. It was not
a demonstration of wisdom, or of our aversion to
hostilities, to prevent one of those ministers from
treating, wTth whom the Directory w^ere ready to
treat. The voidance of a treaty entered into with
France, and the breaking off all intercourse with
her Vv^hen she was assailed on every side by the ar-
mies of tvrants, were not the mo^t m.anifest marks
of our affection to her ; yet the rhetoric of Mr.
Adams passes over these circum.stances, and dis-
covers in the views of France, new and cogent miO-
tives for the full developement of our energies and
resources^

The House of Representatives were occupied
their usual time in preparing an answer to the Pre-
sident.

On Friday, the 4th of December, they took in-
to consideration a proposition made by Mr. Har-
per, for printing 20,000 copies of the Alien and Se-
dition laws, Vv^hich was agreed to.

On the 18th of December, the Senate formed
itself into a court of impeachment for the purpose
of trying William Blount for crimes and misde-
meanors against the United States ; but Mr. Blount
having not appeared, they postponed the trial until
Monday, the 24th of December, when Messrs. Dal-
Jas and Ingersoll, the counsel for Mr. Blount, put
in their plea against the charge exhibited. Mr.
Harper, in behalf of the managers, prayed for time

or JOHN ADAMS. 24-9

to be allowed them for making their replication,
and Thursday, the 3d of January, was fixed upon
for that purpose.

On this day the impeaehment of Mr. Blount
was resumed in the Senate. The court being form-
ed, Mr. Bayard, who v/as chairman, presented a
replication in behalf of the Representatives, setting
f jrth, that as the arguments stated by Blount*s coun-
sel respecting the House of Representatives not
having power to prefer the articles of impeachment
and the Senate power to try them, were insufficient,
their plea on that account ought not to be sustain-
ed, but that Mr. Blount should be compelled to
answer to the articles of impeachment.

Mr. Ingersoll, counsel for the defendant, said
that the managers had favored him and Mr. Dal-
las with a copy of the replication, to which they
had agreed to oppose a demur, which he present-
ed and the same was read.

Mr. Bayard entered into a lengthy examinatioa
of the plea put in by Mr. Blount's counsel; he
said their first objection to the jurisdiction of the
Senate over the crimes with which the defendant
was charged, was the privilege of a jury. He ob-
jected to the necessity of a jury in impeachments
more than in Courts-Martial ; that the House of
Representatives had examined the evidences in this
case, and had solemnly given inquest of the guilt
of the accused, and exhibited articles of impeach-
ment; but that the necessity of a jury, if proved,
might be answered, as the Senate had power to

li

^^50 THE ATMINl^^TRATIClJ

issue process for bringing a jury from the district
where the crime was committed. ...besides, in cases
of impeachment there might be two trials, and
who ever heard of two juries pronouncing verdict
on one accusation ?

Again, he objected that a Senator was not a civil
officer in the United States, and therefore notcon-
-stitutionaJJy impeachable. He went into an elabo-
rate examination of those parts of the Constitution
whereon the meaning was presumable by common
law, and the same presumption must be taken with
respect to a Senator's real situation. Who then on
the presumption of common law was impeachable ?
Agreeable to the jurisdiction of the Houses of Lords
and Commons, in England, it would be in the pow-
er of the Senate and Representatives to declare
who should be impeached ; they were competent to
it. The situation of a Senator was at times Legisla*
tive, Executive and Judicial. He referred to the
se/ise of Congress in 1787, when the government
of the S. W. Territory (now Tenessee) was estab-
lished ; then it wss the opinion of that House,
that the members of the Legislature and Senate
were civil officers ; and it was not a little remarka-
ble, that Mr. Blount voted in favor of that point
which his counsel now disputed. He confessed he
v/as aware that the counsel would oppose to this
principle, that part of the constitution which they
had not named in their plea, where it gave the Presi-
dentpowerto choose all civil ofBcers. It would be
said that a Senator was not acivil officer, because not

OF JOHN ADAMS. 251

chosen by the Presiderit ; but, he said, the clause
alluded to had the words ''under the government,"
which plainly iniphed that there were offices in
the government.. ..the Senate are the Government,
Against that he supposed it might be said that the
Constitution provided that no civil officer should be
a member of either House, meaning no officer of
the President's appointing ; now- if that was not
the meaning, he insisted the Speaker could not be
a member of the House of Representatives. He.
agreed that it was not the distinct parts, but the
main and general meaning of the Constitution,
that the honorable council should be guided by in
their decision of the point of jurisdiction before
them. Regarding this, he particularly mentioned a
part where it was said, that no person who had ob-
tained a title from any foreign prince, should en-
joy any office in the United States. If, therefore, a
Senator was not to be considered as an officer in the
government, a dangerous principle might be in-
troduced contrary to the real intention of the Con-
stitution, as they may enjoy titles ; but this could
not be supposed to be its meaning. Another ob-
jection to the jurisdiction mentioned in the plea
was, that the defendant was not now a Senator....
He hinted at this argument, in order to show that
any officer might evade a trial by resigning his situ-
ation as soon as a crime was committed.

It was also argued in the plea, that the crime
charged was not during the execution of any trusty
or for mal-conduct in office. To this Mr. Bayard onjy

'^52 THE ADMINISTRATION

replied, that a Judge, heading an insurrection, did
not commit the crime in office ; but this could be
no excuse from punishment. As to the last plea
of the competency of common law jurisdiction, he
opposed the principle.

1 he President then told the counsel that they
might reply ; but Mr. Ingersoll requested, as the
hour of adjournment was arrived, and as the
cc unsel wished to prepare an answer to the observ-
ations of Mr. Bayard, that it might be postponed
until Friday.

This day having met, Mr. Dallas delivered a
very long, argumentative and ingenious speech, in
defence of the plea which had been filed in behalf
of the defendant, and in answer to the speech of
Mr. Bayard. Mr. Dallas commenced his speech
at half past eleven and did not close it till past three.

On Saturday Mr. Ingersoll finished the defence
in support of the plea, against the jurisdiction of
the court ; after which Mr. Harper made a reply^
in support of the jurisdiction of the Senate. The
court then adjourned until Monday, when the ques-
tion was determined by 14 votes to 1 1 against the
jurisdiction. ...so that the impeachment fell to the
ground.

Although it is to be regretted, that such a eon-
Gpirator as Blount should have escaped the punish-
ment due to his crimes, yet the decision was cer-
tainly favorable to the rights of the people 3 for if
once the right of impeaching members of Congress
had been established, it would have proved a pow-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 253

erful engine of tyranny. The names of these meni-
bers who voted for this dreadful prerogative, ought
therefore to be marked as inimical to the liberty
of this country. These were, Chipm.an, Davenport,
Goodhue, Latimer, Livermore, Lloyd, Paine, Ross,
Sedgwick, Stockton and Tracey.

On the 18th of January, the President commu-
nicated to Congress several papers relative to the
affairs of the United States with the French Re-
public, consisting of a letter from Mr. Pickering
to Mr. Gerry, dated 25th June, 1798, a letter
from Mr. Gerry to Mr. Pickering, dated 1st Oc-
tober, 1798, after his arrival in this country, and
the correspondence w^hich took place in Paris be-
tween Mr. Gerry and the Minister for Foreign Af-
fairs, M. Talleyrand.

Mr. Pickering censures Mr. Gerry in rather se-
vere and unjustifiable terms, for not having taken
his departure from France along with Generals
Pinckney and Marshall. " The respect," says he,
*' due to yourselves and to your country, irresisti-
bly required that you should turn your backs to a
government that treated both with contempt ; a
contempt not diminished but aggravated by the
flattering but insidious distinction in your favor,
in disparagement of men of so respectable talents,
untainted honor and pure patriotism, as Generals
Pinckney and Marshall, and in whom their govern-
ment and their country reposed entire confidence ;
and especially when the real object of th<it dis-
tinction was to enable the French government.

254r THE ADMINISTRATION

trampling on llie authority and dignity of our
cvvn, to designate an envoy with whom they would
condescend to negociate. It is therefore to be re-
gretted that you did not concur with your col*
leagues in demanding passports to quit the territo-
ries of the French Republic some time before they
left Paris." Mr. Pickering also adds, that " the
President will never send another minister to France
without assurances that he will be received, res-
pected and honored, as the representative of a great,
free, powerful and independent nation."

Mr. Gerry, in answer to the Secretary of State,
justifies his conduct upon the follov/ing grounds :

" In consequence of his letter, (the Minister
of Foreign Affairs) to the envoys, of the 18th of
March, he renewed his proposition to me to treat
separately ; and again received a negative answer.
He then proposed that I should remain at Paris, un-
til the sense of the government could be obtained >
declaring, as before, that an immediate rupture
would be the consequence of my departure. To
have left France under such circumstances was a
measure which I could not justify. The power of
declaring war was not intrusted v>rith the Supreme
Executive of the United States, much less with a
minister; and to have thus provoked it, w^oiMd,
in my mind^ have been tantamount to a declaration
thereof. Indeed, to have plunged the nation into a
war suddenly, even if it was inevitable, appeared to
me in other respects unwarrantable. Congress, who
alone had the right to adopt this measure, mighty

OF JOHN ADAMS. 255

by such a premature step, have been defeated in
their previous arrangements, and subjected to other
manifest inconveniences, and the Executive mi^ht
have been placed on grounds less advantageous for
forming alliances, 8cc. whereas, my detention at
Paris gained time, if this was requisite, and could
not procrastinate a declaration of war, if the United
States were prepared for it. Other considerations
had their weight,

" France, at that time, was making very formida-
ble preparations, with a professed design to over-
throw the Briti'sh Government ; and sueh were the
exertions and enthusiasm cf her citizens, armies
and administration, as to spread a general alarm
throughout Great Britain. It was evident then, to
common observation, that should France succeed,
^he would acquire by the powerful navy and re-
sources of Britain, such strength as to be able to
give law to Europe, and to regions more remote y
and it was rational to suppose that a coalition
would be formed of such European powers as
V were not in the interest or under the influence of
France, to put an end to the war, by offering tiieir
mediation, and declaring their intention to oppo;^e
the power which should refuse it. ...the temporizing
negociations at Rastadt had this aspect ; moreover,
the internal affairs of France were in an agitated
state, and threatened civil commotions. If then,
on the one hand, a new coalition against France,
a change in her government, or even a successful
resistance on the part of Great Britain had happen-

^256 THE ADMINlSlilATION

ed, a favorable opportunity would have presented
itself to the United States for obtaining of her a
just and advantageous treaty ; and this would have
been lobt by a previous rupture in consequence of
my departure. If, on the other hand, Great Bri-
tain, unaided, had fallen, the United States would
have been in a much better condition at peace than
in war with the most formidable power the world
had exhibited. In such an event they could have
but small h. pes of resisting France, and it might
have been deemed madness in them even to have
attempted it. For these reasons I thought it my
indispensable duty to remain a short time at Paris.'*
Mr. Gerry, in this letter, informs the Secretary
of State, that when he left Paris, from the best in-
formation he could obtain, the Executive Directo-
ry were very desirous of a reconciliation between
the two countries. " Every impediment," he says,
*' was adopted by the French Minister to prevent
my departure.'*

The displeasure of the French at Mr. Gerry's
departure, evidently appears from the correspon-
dence that took place between Mr. Talleyrand and
Mr. Gerry.

The first of Talleyrand's letters to Mr. Gerry,
after the departure of the other Envoys, is couched
in the most friendly and pacific terms ; it is dated
the 5d of April, 1798.
" To Mr. Gerry ^ Envoy Extraordinary of the United

States of America, to the French Republic.

" I suppose. Sir, that Messrs. Pinckney and
Marshall have thought it useful and proper, in

OF JOHN ADAMS. 25T

consequence of the intimations, which the end of
my note of the 18th of March, 1798, presents, and
the obstacles which their known opinions have in-
duced to the desired reconciliation, to quit the ter-
ritories of the Repubhc. In this supposition, I
have the honor to point out to you the 5th or the
7th of this decade, to resume our reciprocal com-
munications upon the interests of the French Re-
public and the United States of America.

" Receive, I pray you, the assurance
of my perfect consideration,
" CH. MAU. TALLEYRAND."

From the following letters of Talleyrand, it
would also seem that he was entirely unacquainted
with the mysterious interviews that took place be-
tween our envoys and the gentlemen whom they
were pleased to designate by W. X. Y. Z.

" xMAY 30, 1799.
" To Mr. Gerrtr,

" I communicate to you. Sir, a London Gazette
of the 15th of May last i you will there find a very
strange publication. I cannot observe, without
surprise, that intriguers have profited of the insula-
ted condition in which the envoys of the United
States had kept themselves, to make proposals and
to hold conversations, the object of which was
evidently to deceive you.

" I pray you to make known to me immedi-
ately the names denoted by the initials W. X. Y.
and Z. and that of the woman who is described as
having had conversations with Mr. Pinckney upon

K k

25S THE ADMINISTRATION

the interests of America ; if you are averse to
sending them to me in writing, be pleased to com*
municate them confidentially to the bearer.

" I must rely upon your eagerness to enable
the government to fathom those practices, of which
I felicitate you on not having been the dupe, and
which you must wish to see cleared up."

"JUNE 1, 1798.
" To Mr, Gerry,

" I have received. Sir, your letter of yesterday ^
you inform me 1st. That the Gazette presented,
contains all the informal negociatlons communica-
ted by the envoys to their government. 2d. That
the persons referred to have not produced to your
knowledge any authority, any document of any
kind v/hatever to accredit themselves. 3d. That
three of the individuals mentioned, (that is to say,
in the order in which I have placed them) W. X.
Y. are foreigners y and the fourth, (that is to say) Z.
acted only as messenger and interpreter.

" Although I perceive your repugnance to
naming those individuals, I must earnestly request
you to yield it to the importance of the object.
Be pleased therefore, 1st. Either to give me their
names in writing, or communicate them confiden-
tially to the bearer. 2d, To name the woman whom
Mr. Pinckney mentions. 3d. To tell me whether
any of the citizens attached to my service and au-
thorized by me to see the envoys, told them a word
which had the least relation to the disgusting pro«

OF JOHN ADAMS. 259

position which was made by X. and Y. to give any
sum, whatever;, for corrupt distribution."

'' JUNE 4, 1798.
" To Mr. Gerry,

"Your letter of yesterday. Sir, has just been
handed to me. You may render to me in perfect
confidence, the names you mention to m*e under
your hand and seal. ...I assure you, that they shall
not be published as coming from you."
Mr. Gerry s ansxver,

^' The names of the persons designed in the
communications of the Envoys Extraordinary of tlie
United States, to their government, (published in
the Commercial Advertiser of the 11th of April
last,) are as follows:

"X. is M. — — . Y. Is Mr. Bellamy. Z. is
Mr. Houtval."

Mr. Gerry has inserted the proper name of X.
In this document, as given to Mr. Talleyrand : but
the person designated by X. not having (like Y.)
avowed himself, the promise made by the envoys to
him and Y. '' that their names should, in no event,
be made public," is still obligatory on the Execu-
tive, in respect to X. and therefore his name has
never been made knovvm.

No political negociation ever engaged or per-
plexed public curiosity, more than this still myste-
rious correspondence of X. Y. and Z. Whether
the roguery of the business is to be placed Vv'ith the
Directory, with Talleyrand, with the American en-
voys or with the concealed persons., is a point upon

.*260 THE ADMINISTRATION

■which no satisfactory proofs can yet be obtained*
To form any probable opinion respecting it, we
must, as in every other intricate transaction, exam-
ine the characters and views of the parties concern-
ed, and by comparing them together endeavor to
rliscov^r upon which side the villainy lies.

No three persons could have been sent by Mr.
Adams, less acceptable to the Directory of France,
than Pinckney, Marshall and Gerry. Pinckney,
it is well known, was refused before, and had, on
that account, in his letters to Pickering, which were
published, and which the French must h^ve seen,
represented that people in the worst point of view.
Sending such a character to Paris in order to ne-
gociate a peace, was nearly an equal insult as if
Mr. Pitt had sent to America the traitor Arnold
in order to represent the court of Britain. John Mar-
shall was an improper character in several respects;
his principles of aristocracy were well known.
Talleyrand, when in America, knew that this man
was regarded as a royalist, and not as a republican,
and that he was abhorred by most honest charac-
ters. Mr. Gerry was the least exceptionable of
the three ; but Gerry was never by nature intended
fora diplomatic character, no more than Mr. Adams;
they were both natives of that soil " in which no
salutary plant takes root." In short, if Mr. Adams
had wished to declare war against France, he could
not have adopted a more explicit mode of making
known his sentiments, than by sending this trium-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 2(31

virate to treat for a peace. The French, notwitli-
standing, appeared to manifest every desire to ne-
gociate ; the Directory, it is true, did not admit the
envoys to an audience; but the Minister for Foreign
Affairs was empov^ered to treat with them, and
every effort was used on his part to effect a nego-
ciation....but they neither would condescend to
wait upon him together, or separately ; th.cir time
was otherwise occupied, eithei; in chatting with
X. Y. and Z. or in composing elaborate epistles to
Mr. Pickering, complaining of the insolence of Mr.
Talleyrand and the roguery of the Directory.

Two of them, Pinckney and Marshall, at length
departed, but not in the most honorable manner.
An unhappy female of a respectable family in Paris,
lost her reputation in their com^pany : Her pa-
rents, to screen themselves from the odium of in-
triguing with the ambassadors of a foreign countrw
turned her out of doors. She applied to Pinckney
for leave to accompany him to America, which, it is
said, he granted, and fixed a day for their depar-
ture, but went off without either giving her notice,
or a compensation for the loss of her virtue. The
helpless lady was obliged to solicit the charitv of
Mr.^ Gerry, who also promised^ she said, to conduct
her to America, but afterwards left her as ISIr.
Pinckney. When all the embassy were fled, she
applied to the Captain of an American vessel, who,
on the faith of her story, gav(^ her a passage to
Charleston -, but she had no sooner arrived, than
she was apprehended ar a female spy. A few ten-

2C9: THli ADMlKlSTRATiOi;

der and affectionate cards, which had been address*
ed to her by her lovers, and which she carried along
with her as passports, were twisted into bills of
treason j two or three small trunks containing v/ear-
ing apparel, which constituted all her property,
were, with the ssme facility, framed into tubs of
seditious papers, for the purpose of distribution
among the slaves of the southern States. What
afterwards became of the unfortunate lady, we know-
not ; whether Pinckney and Marshall recognized
her, or whether she was drove to the hard necessity
of working fur her own support and that of a help-
less inl^ant, the only known benefit procured to the
United States from the embassy of Pinckney, Mar-
shall and Gerry.

To return from this digression, let us observe the
conduct of Mr. Gerry : This gentleman often insi-
nuates and sometimes even asserts, that Talleyrand
told him he might rely on any information given by
Mr. Y. ; but from the correspondence between
him and Talleyrand respecting their names, it evi-
dently appears that the latter was totally igno-
rant of any offers ever made by him. As Mr.
Gerry has never attempted to contradict Talleyrand
in this matter, but seems to acquiesce In it, we
must infer that the whole story of ^.50,000 sterling,
as a douceur, and 16 millions of Dutch rescrip-
tions by way of loan, was either a fabrication of
X.Y. andZ. or of our own envoys, or perhaps
of both. If there was any reality in the said
bribe, it proceeded from a very different quarter

Oi'^ JOHN ADAMS. 265

^han cither Talleyrand or the Directory.. ..X. and
Y. were most probably agents for the privateers-
men, and the X. 50,000 was intended for their
pockets, and not for that of the French minister.
Some Vv^ords dropped by Mr. X. and related by the
envoys in their dispatches, appear "to confirm this
supposition. " He said that all the members of the
Directory v/ere not disposed to receive our moneys
that Merlin, for instance, was paid from another
quarter, and would tonch no part of the douceur
which was to come from us." ¥/e replied, " that
we had understood that Merlin was paid by the
owners of the privateers ; and he nodded an assent
to the fact." A late publication published in Paris,
in vindication of the conduct of Talleyrand, even
insinuates that Pinckney was leagued with the pri-
vateer merchants; and that most of the privateers
fitted out in the French ports, were the property of
Americans. We trust that neither Mr. Pinckney
nor any of our consuls w^ere engaged in such a
nefarious trade, although it must be allowed, there
were several citizens of the United States who en-
riched themselves upon the spoils of their country-
men. The same publication affirms, that X. and
Y. were the proprietors of several j)rivateers at
Bourdeaux and Dunkirk. If this be true, it is not
surprising that they should have exerted every
scheme to prevent a reconciliation. At rll events,
our envoys deserve the greatest censure for having
been duoed bv such swindlers.

254 THE ADMINISTRATION

The following were the Acts passed this Session
of Congress :

1. An act for the punishment of certain crimes
therein specified.

2. An act respecting ballances reported against
certain States, by. the commissioners appointed to
settle the accounts between the United States and
the several States.

3. An act to alter the stamp duties imposed
upon foreign bills of exchange and bills of lading,
by an act, intitlpd, " An act laying duties upon
stamped vellum, parchment and paper/' and further
to amend the same.

4. An act further to suspend the commercial
intercourse between the United States and France,
and the dependencies thereof.

5. An act for the relief of Jonathan Haskill.

6. An act to authorize the reimbursements of
monies expended in rendering aid to sick and
destitute American seamen in foreign countries.

7. An act for the relief of Gazzan, Taylor and
Jones, and of Samuel Watt of the city of Phila-
delphia.

8. An act appropriating a certain sum of mo-
ney to defray the expence of holding a treaty or
treaties with the Indians.

9. An act for the augmentation of the navy.

10. An act authorising the establishment of
docks.

1 1 . An act authorizing the purchase of timber
for naval purposes.

OF JOHN ADAMS. *265

] 2. An act respecting quarantine and health
laws.

13. An act fixing the pay of the captains and
commanders of ships and vessels of war of the
United States.

14. An act to amend the act, intitled, ^* An act
to provide for the valuation of lands and dwelling
houses, and the enumeration of slaves within the
United States."

15. An act providing compensation for the
marshals, clerks, attornies, jurors and witnesses in
the courts of the United States, and to repeal cer-
tain parts of the acts therein mentioned, and for
other purposes.

16. An act for the relief of Thomas Lewis.

17. An act to amend an act, intitled, " An act
giving effect to the laws of the United States with-
in the district of Tennessee.*'

18. An act making appropriations for defray-
ing the expences which may arise in carrying into
effect certain treaties between the United States
and several tribes or nations of Indians.

19. An act allowing James Mathers compensa-
tion for services done for the United States, and
expences incurred in rendering said services, as
Serjeant at arms to the Senate.

20. An act altering the time of holding the Dis-
trict Court in Vermont.

21. An act concerning French citizens that
have been or may be captured, and brought into
the United States.

LI

ti66 THE ADMINISTRATION

22. An act giving eventual authority to the
President of the United States to augment the
army.

23. An act to provide for the security of bail in
certain cases.

24. An act to augment the salaries of the offi-
cers therein mentioned.

25. An act to regulate the medical establish-
ment.

26. An act to grant an additional compensation
for the year 1799^ to certain officers of the Senate
and House of Uepresentatives of the United States.

27. An act for the government of the navy of
the United States.

28. An act to establish the compensations of the
officers employed in the collection of the duties on
imposts and tonnage, and for other purposes.

29. An act authorizing the augmentation of
the marine corps.

30. An act to erect a beacon on Boon Island.

31. An act to regulate and fix the compensa-
tion of clerks.

32. An act to establish the Post-Office of the
United States.

33. An act to amend the act, intitled, '^ An act
regulating the grant of lands appropriated for mili-
tary services, and for the society of the United
Brethren for propogating the gospel among the
heathens."

34. An act making appropriations for the sup-

OF JOHN ADAMS* 267

port of government for the year one thousand seven
hundred and ninety-nine.

35. An act to regulate trade and intercourse
with the Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on
the frontiers.

36. An act in addition to an act for the more
general promulgation of the laws.

37. An act authorizing the President of the
United States to fill certain vacancies in the army
and navy.

38. An act making additional appropriations
for the year 1799.

39. An act vesting the power of retaliation in
the President in certain cases.

40. An act respecting the distillers of Geneva.

41. An act for the relief and support of Ameri-
can seamen.

42. An act to alter and discontinue certain
post-roads and to establish others.

43. An act for the better organizing of the
troops of the United States.

44. An act authorizing the sale of lands be-
tween the great and little rivers Miami in the
United States Territory, N. W. of the river Ohio,
and for giving pre-emption to certain persons.

45. An act for the relief of Comfort Sands and
others.

46. An act to establish the salary of the Deputy
Post-Master-General.

47. An act to regulate the collection of duties
on imposts and tonnage.

^68 THE ADMINISTRATION

4S. An act for the support of the naval establish-
ment for the year 1799.

49. An act foi the support of the military estab-
lishment for the year 1799.

50. An act in addition to the act for the relief
and protection of American seamen, and further to
amend the same.

CHAPTER IX.

Dj\ Logan.... Capture of Vlnsurgente.... Murder of
Neale Harvey..., Trial of Dr. Reynolds, Diiane
and others.. ..Af lack upon the Aurora Office..,. Case
of Ebenezer Giles.

In Summer, 1798, soon after the publication of
our envoy's dispatches, a transaction occurred, that
unveiled the designs and wishes of the conspira-
tors for a French war. Dr. George Logan, a native
of Pennsylvania, and a citizen of independent for-
tune, set out from Philadelphia on a voyage to
Europe.

Having landed at Hamburgh, he met with Gene-
ral la Fayette, who procured him the means of pur-
suing his journey to Paris, where he arrived on the
7th of August, 1798. Upon enquiry of the Con-
sul-General of the United States, he was informed
our Commissioners had left that city, without hav-
ing accomplished the object of their mission, and

OF JOHN ADAMS. ^GD

that all negociation was at an cnd....Further5 that an
embargo had been laid on all American shipping
in the ports of France, and that many of our sea
men were confined as prisoners.

Dr. Logan justly supposing that there was no
law, moral or political, which could prevent him
from benefiting his country, availed himself of
every legal means to procure an interview with
influential characters. Through the politeness of
a foreigner of distinguished talents, whose name is
not mentioned. Dr. Logan was introduced to citi-
zen AIerlin....This Director and man of science.
Dr. Logan frequently visited afterwards on the
footing of a private friend. On one of these occa-
sions Merlin informed him, that France had not
the kast intention to interfere in the public af-
fairs of the United States, that his country had ac-
quired great reputation in having assisted America
to become a free republic, and that they never
w^ould disgrace their ovv^n revolution by attempting
the destruction of the United States. He observ-
ed, that with respect to the violation of our flag,
it w^as common with all neutrals, and was nro-
vokedbythe example of England, and intended to
place France on an equal ground with her, so long
as she should be permitted, by the neutral powers,
to avail herself of their resources. ...but that the
government of France, averse to such a competition,
were contemplating measures to make their laws
more favorable towards neutral nations. In con-
firmation of this declaration. Dr. Logan received.

r-

270 THE ADMINISTRATION

whilst at Bourdeaux, a letter from the Consul-Gen-
eral of the United States, dated Paris, August 30th,
in which the Consul informed him that the report of
France adopting a more liberal system in regard
to the flag and property of neutrals, was gaining
ground every hour.

Dr. Logan, believing that this manifestation of
friendship on the part of the Republic of France,
would be highly acceptable to his country, he of-
fered his services to Mr. Skipwith, the Consul-Gen-
eral, to be the bearer of his dispatches to the Presi-
dent of the United States. A duphcate of the same
dispatches had been forwarded by some other chan-
nel. When Doctor Logan, therefore, after his ar-
rival, presented them to Mr. Pickering, in place of
being cordially received or thanked for his trouble,
he was simply informed that they were of no im-
portance, as their contents had been already re-
ceived. Insinuations of treason were thrown out
against him, and agreeable to the federal custom,
Mrs. Logan was also reviled, a lady, in whose
character, the utmost diligence of malice has not
been able, more than in that of her husband, to
discover a single stain.

To these slanderous accusations, Dr. Logan can
oppose the blessings of hundreds of his country-
men, whom be has saved from the risk of ruin.
At Bourdeaux he received, upon September 8th,
1798, an address subscribed by fourteen masters of
ships, and oth^er persons, whose property he had
preserved from confiscation. He also procured

OF JOHN ADAMS. 271

fi^edbm^ for a. considerable number of seamen. For
these services, at the sitting down of Congress, iit
December, 1798, the whole federal faction broke
loose upon- him. Thatcher, Harper and Otis, at-
tacked him with all their fury. As a vindication*
of bis character, he published the following letter,
dated Bourdeaux, September 8th, 1798 :
'^ Sir,

" A habit of trade of many years standing with*
tlie United States of America, has, in the late difhi-
culties between the two countries, enabled us to
feel how much we are indebted to your laudable
endeavors to prevent this country from acting hos-
tilely, after the late occurrences in America ; and
how much we are beholden to you in particular^
for the convincing proof of the good intentions of
this government, in taking off the embargo they had
laid on all American vessels. Pray excuse this
abrupt manner of delivering our sentiments ; but
as acting for our friends in America, we find our-
selves more particularly obliged.... we feel ourselves
gratified in thus assuring you of our esteem ; we
"wish you a successful passage over to America, and
remain. Sir, your cordial friends,

'^ SKINNER, FENWICK 6C BROWN.
"To Dr. Logan, of |

Philadelphia." |

In the beginning of this year, (1799) hostilities
were openly commenced between the Republic of
France and the United States. The first engage-
mient of ariy importanc«v between the two powers,
was fought on the 9th of February, by Tlnsiir-

i272 THE ADMINISTRATION

gente of 40 guns, Captain Bureaut, and the Con-
stellation of 38 guns. Commodore Truxton. Vic-
tory proved favorable to us, and Tlnsurgente was
captured ; but the glory of the day was cloud-
ed by an unfortunate accident, the death of one
of the seamen on board of Truxton^s vessel, occa-
sioned by a stab, received from the 3d Lieutenant
of the Constellation. Neale Harvey, was the name
of this unfortunate young man, and Andrew Sterret,
that of the officer. Whether Harvey actually de-
serted his station during the action, is a matter not
ascertained : but humanity must incline us to be-
lieve that Sterret thought so, before he plunged
a sword into the bowels of a fellow-citizen. The
affair, however, might have been buried in obli
vion, had not Sterret*s imprudence urged him to
publish it to the world, in a letter to his father....
^' One fellow (says Sterret) I was obliged to run
through the body, and so put an end to a cow-
ard. You must not think this strange, for we
would put a man to death for even looking pale
on board this ship.** On this occasion we must
certainly blame both the silence of Truxton and that
of our administration. The duty which they owed
to their country, ought certainly to have compelled
a public investigation of the affair, which it is to be
hoped would have turned out, notwithstanding its
untoward aspect, to Sterret*s honor ; and removed
from the character of that brave officer, a stain
which will ever blot the most praise-worthy action
he can perform. But Mr. Adams received the intel-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 275

Jigence with equal indifference as Truxton beheld
it ; and without any investigation which we know
of, promoted Mr. Sterret with the other officers.

The day of Truxton's victory, which was on Sun-
day, is remarkable on another account. A motion
was to have been made in Congress the Monday fol-
lowing, for a repeal of the Alien law of 1798.. ..In
order to promote this repeal. Dr. Reynolds, Air.
Duane, and several other gentlemen of Philadel-
phia, went to St. Mary's Church and placed upon
the doors, petitions to Congress for that purpose,
with the intention of receiving the signatures of
those of the Congregation who were Aliens. No
proceeding could have been more harmless, and
unexceptionable than this ; but the appellation of
Alien was synonymous with Jacobin in the under-
standing of the tory christians. The alarm of sedi-
tion and treason was sounded in the church ; the
pious priest dropped the bible, and out rushed
the federal mob. A. desperado, of the name of
Gallagher, at the head of several ruffians, attacked
Reynolds, knocked him down, then kicked him,
and maltreated his friends in the same manner.
The petitions were torn from the door, and a flam-
ing report of the suppression of the Alien Riot,
as it was called, appeared in the federal papers
next morning.

The federalists, not satisfied with their victorv,
were determined, if possible, to accomplish the
ruin of Reynolds and his companions. They there-
fore accused the former of an intention to murder

Mm

274 THE ADMINISTRATION

Gallaeber, and the latter of a riot and assault at St.
Mary's Church, Their trial was brought forward
the 22d of the same month, and, most probably, had
it not been for several republicans who fortunately
were upon the jury, they would all have been found
guilty, and received the punishment which a par-
tial court might award ; but the sound judgment of
the few prevailed over the bigotted prejudice of
the many, and a verdict of acquittal was in conse-
quence given.

Enraged at this verdict, the enemies of liberty
and order resolved no longer to be trifled with the
forms of law and the caprice of a jury. A band of
upwardsof thirty took the oath of vengeance. The
names of the leaders of this conspiracy were, John
Dunlap, J. B. JM'Kean, Peter Mierckin, George
Willing, Joshua B. Bond, Owen Foulke, Jonathan
Robeson, Edward Shoemaker, John Singer, Wil-
liam Lewis and James Simmons. On the 15th of
May they entered the office of the Aurora ; one
party with pistols in their hands, acted as centinels
upon the compositors and pressmen, while an
other party kept at bay several strangers who were
in the office. Peter Mierckin, with several of his
followers, then attacked Mr. Duane, the object of
their malice. The former knocked him down,
while the latter ruffians held his hands. Bleeding
and senseless, they dragged him down stairs into
Franklin court, and there satiated their vengeance
by repeating their blows upon Mr. Duane and his
affectionate son, a boy of sixteen, who threw him-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 275-

self across the body of his father, lo screen him fiom
the blood-thirsty barbarians.

They wouki have proceeded to have demoHsh-
ed the whole building, had not the republicans by
this time received notice of the savage scene,,
and proceeded to the relief of tlieir patriot.

Notwithstanding this most unprovoked and
unwarrantable assault, Mr. Duane found it imprac-
ticable during the administration of Mr. Adams, to
obtain the smallest redress for the injuries which
his person and property had sustained ; it was
not until the month of April last, two years after-
wards, that their trial could be brought forward.
The only compensation he then received, did not
exceed two hundred dollars.

Am.ong the various insults which the American
flag had suffered during this and the preceding
year, from the cruisers of his Britannic Majesty, the
treatment of Ebenezer Giles, commander of the
schooner Betsey, of Beverley, in Massachusetts, me-
rits particular attention, both on account of the sin-
gular barbarity, which disgraced the British on that
occasion, and the tame conduct of the President,
and Mr. Pickering, when they heard of the out-
rage which the honor of their country had sustain-
ed. The protest of Captain Giles and his crew,
give the fullest account and are the best proofs of
this unprovoked attack from a British ship of war.
" Comviomoealth of Massachusetts,
"By this public instrument, be it made known
and maBifcst, that on the 21st of Mav, 1799, before

276 THE ADMlNlSTRAflON

nie, Joseph Ward, Esq. Notary Public, by legal au
thority admitted and sworn, and practising in Bev-
erly, in said county of Essex, personally came
and appeared, Ebenezer Giles, Commander of the
schooner Betsey, of said Beverly, and James Yv'^il-
son. Mate, and Allen Stickland and Joseph Patch,
seamen, belonging to the said schooner, who after
being severally sworn to declare the truth, declared
on oath, that they were on the twenty-seventh day
of April, 1799, at the Island of St. Vincent, at a
place called La You Bay, on board said schooner,
there waiting for his British Majesty's ship of war
called the Daphne, to pass by, who v/as previously
engaged to convoy a fleet of merchantmen from
that island to St. Christopher's ; and on Saturday the
27th day of April aforesaid, about twelve o'clock
at noon, the convoy hove in sight, and about three
o'clock, P. M. we came to sail, and stood out of the
bay ; and about twenty minutes past three, P. M.
the ship Daphne stood athwart our stern, and hailed
us, and requested to know if we had instructions
from their ship,which we answered in the affirmative.
They ordered the Betsey to bring too ; we then be-
ing by the wind close hauled, hove the main-top-
sail to the mast, and put the helm a-lee j the Daph-
ne still continued her course close by the land ;
the schooner Betsey lay too until about half the fleet
convoyed, had passed by them, then made sail and
stood on with the fleet ; at about 4 o'clock P. M.
observed the Daphne's boat coming towards us j
they called to us to heave the main-top-sail to the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 277

mast, which was immediately done, and the boat
came under our lee-stcm, or forward our main
chains 3 we hove a rope to the boat, which they
caught in midsiiip of her, which boat lay stem on
the schooner, and neglecting to pass the rope into
the bows to catch a turn to wind her, as Captain
Giles wished him to do in a polite and respectful
manner, and after a short time, they slip't their hold
and dropped a-stem. We then hove tlie fore-top-
sail to the mast, dropped the fore and main peaks,
and let fly the jib sheets, to wait for the boat to
come up with us, which she did in four or five min-
utes ; as she came along side. Captain Giles said to
the officer on board the boat, " my friend, I was very
sorry to have seen you drop a-stern." He answered,
**^ you damned rascal, do not call me your friend."
The Captain of the Betsey then told him, that he
hoped he should not find him to be his enemy, and
particularly the ship Daphne. The officer then placed
one of his men from the boat, on board the schoon-
er to the helm, and ordered all our sails set, which
was immediately done, and stood for the Daphne,
and still continuingto treat the Captain of the Betsey
with insulting and abusive language, and demand-
ed of said Giles his instructions which were receiv-
ed from the Daphne, which were delivered up to
him. As we came a-breast of the ship, the officer
returned on board the ship, taking the said instruc-
tions with him. After a few minute?, some per-
.son on board of the ship informed us that they
should send their boat on board of us a2:ain. The

278 THE ADMINISTRATIOIT

boat soon came along side of us, and commanded
Captain Giles on board of the ship immediately.
He instantly complied, and went with the officer on
board of the ship. Immediately after he arrived on
board, the said James Wilson, Allen Stickland and
Joseph Patch, on their oath, testify and swear, that
they saw two men on board of the said ship violent-
ly beating Captain Giles, one of them with a large
piece of rope, and the other with his fist, and con-
tinued to do so for the space of more than thirty
minutes, to the best of their judgment, and some-
times by the violence of the blows received, he
was struck down ; and they soon after sent Captain
Giles on board the Betsey, who, when he came
along side, was not able to stand or walk, by reason
of the barbarous treatment he had received on
board the said ship.... And they further testify, and
saythatthey took Captain Giles on board his schoon-
er in the cabin, and took off his jacket, (as he was
not able to take it off himself) and found it much
stript and torn by force of the blows of the rope's
end ; also with great surprise saw blood issuing
from his mouth and nose, occasioned by the force
of the blows of the fist, or the falls on the said ship's
deck (to them uncertain which) whilst he was on
board; and on further examination found his back
and arms unmercifully bruised, and turned black
with large wales on the same, occasioned by the
cruel and most unnatural treatment he receive d on
board the said ship ; and further say, thatCaptai»
Giles was not able for the term of four days at

OF JOHN ADAMS. 279

least, to come on deck, or do his duty, neither has
he fully recovered his health, as before enjoyed, to
this day.

" In further confirmation of the above written,
we have hereunto set our names, after being first
sworn to the truth of the foregoing protest :

EBENEZER GILES, Master.

JAMES WILSON, Mate.

JOSEPH PATCH.

ALLEN STICKLAND.
'^And the aforesaid affidavit, Ebenezer Giles, at
the above said time and place, in addition to the
foregoing, by himself further testifieth on oath, and
doth declare, that he received his instructions from
the ship Daphne on the twenty-fifth day of April,
1799 ; andinformed the commander of the ship, that
his schooner lay at a place called La You Bay, about
two leagues to leeward of the port of Kingston, at
which place the Daphne lay ; and that on the 27th
day of the same month, he joined the fleet as be-
fore expressed ; and was commanded to go on
board the ship as aforesaid, and when he came
along side of the said ship, and was passing over
the side, the deponent on oath declares, that the
Captain of the said ship called to him, and told him
he would let him know what it was to pay a dis-
respect to a man of war, and immediately called
for a boatswain's mate. That he then asked the
Captain what he designed by his disrespect; the
answer was, " you damn*d rascal, not a word." He
asked the Captain if he was not allowed to speak

'J. to T 11 1 A 'J M i :> 1 S i il A f 1 0 N

in hisownbelialf, wliich was ansv/ered/' what, by
you a damned rascal !" and much more abusive lan-
guage ; and ordered the boatsv/ain's mate to take
a rope's end to the damn'd rascal ; who, very readi-
ly, began to beat him, the said deponent, with a
rope of 2 ~ inches, (and the Captain followed the
the same, with blows of his fist) until the rope was
fagged out eight or nine inches in length ; then one
other boatswain's mate was called by the Captain^
w^ho immediately appeared, and the Captain of the
ship ordered him to find a rope that was pointed,
and to lay it on well to the damn'd rascal, and then
he began to beat the deponent accordingly, agree-
able to the instructions from his inhuman comman-
der. The deponent begged of the Captain not to
murder him in that manner, in God's name ; the
return was a blow with the Captain's fist, which
brought the deponent down. The Boatswain still
continued to strike the deponent until he received
about forty-seven stripes, and then he quitted the
deponent, and the Captain of the ship ordered the
officer, vvho brought him on board, saying, "Mr.
Mettinay, put this damned rascal on board of his
vessel, and return Vv'ith the boat immediately." In
further confirmation of the truth of the foregoing
protest, I do hereunto set my hand,

" EBEXEZER GILES, ^Master.

" The deponents do, therefore, protest, and I the

said Notary Public, at their instance and request^

do by these presents, solemnly protest against the

Captain of the said ship Daphne, and the British

OF JOHN ADAMS. 281

government for the aforesaid cruel and barbarous

treatment, and for all losses, costs, suits, expences

and damages that have arisen, or may rise thereon.

" In testimony whereof, I, the said Notary,

have hereunto set my hand, and affixed

my Notarial Seal this twenty-first day

of May, 1799.

" JOSEPH WARD, N. P."
Several letters passed between the Secretary of
State and Captain Giles, respecting this business,
but without any satisfaction to the latter; for no
proper explanation was ever demanded from the
English Government for the conduct of the com-
mander of the British frigate.

CHAPTER X.

Trial of John Fries, for High Treason.

John Fries of the county of Northampton, in
Pennsylvania, was, on the 1st of May, 1799, indict-
ed in the Circuit Court, held at Philadelphia, for
levying war against the United States, by opposing
the assessors for the direct tax.

Judge Iredell delivered his charge to the
Grand Jury, on the 11th of April. Of all the
charges which had hitherto been given by the
Federal Judges, this charge of Judge Iredell ap-
peared to be the greatest insult offered to the feel-

Nn

282 THE ADMINISTRATION

ings of a free people. Liberty he compared to the
religion of Mahomet, which was propagated by
^he sword : Nations, who became free, he said,
were placed under French guardianship. ...French
arsenals were the repository \)f- their arms ; French-
treasuries of their money ; and the city of Paris
of their curiosities. After this display of metaphy-
sical jargon, he proceeded to an investigation of the
Alien and Sedition bills, which he attempted to
vindicate, and to prove their consistency v;ith the
constitution of the United States. . He then enter-
ed upon a labored disquisition of treason, gave
quotations from Judge Hale and Blackstone, and
concluded by praying that God might preserve all
lovers of subordination from being trampled under
th-e feet of Jacobins.

On Wednesday the 1 st of May, the prisoner,
John Fries, was brought to the bar. Upon the in-
dictment being read, charging him with having
unlawfully, maliciously and traitorously compas-
sed and levied war, insurrection and rebellion,
against the United States, he pleaded not guilty.
The several particulars of these charges are narra-
ted in the following address of Mr. Sitgreaves, who
opened the trial, on the part of the government :
" Gentlemen of the Jury,

"By the indictment which has been just read
to you, you perceive that John Fries, the prisoner
at the bar, has put himself on trial before you on
an accusation of having committed the greatest of-
fence which can be perpetrated in this or any

OF JOHN ADAMS. 283"

Other country ; and it will devolve on you to de-
termine, according to the evidence which will be
produced to you, on the important question of life
or death. It is the duty of those that prosecute,
to open to you, as clear as they are able, those prin-
ciples of law which apply to the offender; and
then to state to you the testimony with which the
accusation is supported. This duty has devolved
upon me, and I hope, while I regard my duty as
accuser, I shall do it in such a way as shall do no
injustice to the prisoner. However, if I should be
incorrect, there are sufficient opportunities for me
to be corrected, by the vigilance which the coun-
sel engaged on behalf of the prisoner will use, and
the order which the court will observe. These
are sufficient to correct any mis-statements, but I
will use my utmost endeavors to be guilty of none.
*'The prisoner is indicted of the crime of treason.
Treason is defined in the constitution of the Uni-
ted States, Section 3, Art. 3, irfthe words following:
'' Treason against the United States, shall consist
only in levying war against them, or in adhering to
their enemies, giving them aid and comfort."

*^ This crime appears to be limited to tw^o descrip-
tions : the one levying war against the United States,,
and the other adhering to its enemies. With re-
spect to the latter branch of the description, there
will be no occasion for any explanation, or to call
your attention in the least to it, because it is not
charged upon the prisoner ; he is charged with,
having committed treason in levying war.

284 THE ADMINISTRATION

*^ This expression, phraseology or description, as
adopted by our constitution, is borrowed from a
statute of Great Britain, passed in the reign of Ed-
ward III. which has, ever since it passed, com-
manded the veneration and respect of that nation,
ahnost equal with their great charter ; it is consi-
dered as a great security to their liberties. Indeed,
the uniform and unanimous consent given to this
statute, through a great lapse of time, by the most
able writers on law, its never having undergone the
least alteration amidst the most severe scrutinies,
and its adoption into the constitution of the United
States, without the least amendment, are sufficient
encomiums to prove its worth. I shall state to you,
as far as is necessary to the present application of
that statute, the most able and judicious exposi-
tions, but without recuring to a variety of authori-
ties which might be quoted.

, " The crime of treason, as it has been laid down
by those writers generally allow^ed to be the most
able on law, whose accuracy is unquestionable, is
the highest crime that can possibly be committed
against the good government of a nation, and a con-
siderable inroadinto the liberties of a subject. In dis-
cussing thiscrime,Ishallonlvrecurto the notes which
I have taken, and my own knowledge of the law ;
if that statement should be inaccurate, there are suf-
ficient opportunities for amendment in the course
of this trial. Treason consists in levying war
against the government of the United States : it may
confidently be said not only to consist in joining

OF JOHN ADAMS. 2S5

or aiding the hostile intentions of a foreign enemy,
nor is it confined to rebellion, in the broad sense
in which that word is generally understood, or in
the utter subversion of the government, and its
fundamental institutions; but it also consists
in the raising a military force, from among the
people, for the purpose of attaining any object with
a design of opposing the lawful authority of the
government, by dint of arms, in some m.atter of
public concern, in which the insurgents have no
particular interest, distinct from the rest of the
community. This is the best description of the
crime of treason, as it relates to the matter before
you, which I am able to give. A tumultuously
raising the people with force, for the purpose of
subverting or opposing the lawful authority of the
government, in which those insurgents have no par-
ticular interest distinct from the people at large.

^^ Agreeable to the division made in the definition
of treason by Lord Hale, it must consist both in
levying war, and in levying war against the gov-
ernment of the United States. Respecting levying
war, it is to be understood, agreeable to the most
approved authorities, that there must be an actual
military array. I mention this, because I think it
proper to be particular in so essential and important
an enquiry; and because I think we shall prove to
you that this w^as actually done by the prisoner.
Another thing I wish you to bear in mind is, that
war may be sufficiently levyed against the United
States, although no violence be used, and although

286 THE ADMINISTRATION

no battle be fought. It is not necessary that actual
violence should take place, to prove the actual
waging of war. If the arrangements are made,
and the numbers' of armed men actually appear^ so
as to procure the object which they have in view,
by intimidation as well as by actual force, that will
constitute the offence.

'^It must be war waged against the United States :
This is an important distinction. A large assembly
of people may come together, in whatever num-
bers, however they may be armed or arrayed, or
whatever degree of violence they may commit, yet
that alone would not constitute treason : the trea-
son must be known ; it must be for a public and
not a private revenge ; it must be avowedly levying
war against the United States. If people assemble
in this hostile m.anner, not only to gratify revenge
or any other purpose independent of war against
the United States, it will only amount to a riot ; but
if it is an object in which the person has no particu-
lar interest, this constitutes the offence of treason.
There are a variety of instances, which might be
produced in order to illustrate this definition of the
law j but it is not necessary to turn to them. SufHce
it to say, that it is the intention, or end, for which
an insurrection is raised, w^hich constitutes the
crime. This, of course, you will have in mind when
the testimony is gone into. I will just observe, as
applicable to this case, that one instance, which is
defined, of the crime of treason is, to defeat the ope-
ration of the laws of government^ any insurrection,

OF JOHN ADAMS. 287

I will be bold to say, to defeat the execution of the
public laws, amounts to treason. Havincr given
you this explanation of treason, so far as I suppose
is connected with the present awful occasion, I shall
now proceed to state the amount of evidence we
mean to produce, in order to prove that the unhap-
py prisoner was guilty of that high crime.

"It wiil appear, gentlemen, from the testimony
which w^ill be presented to you, that durino- the
latter months of the year 1798, discords prevailed
to an enormous extent throughout a large portion
of the counties of Bucks, Northampton and Mont-
gomery, and that considerable difficulties attend-
ed the assessors for the direct tax in the execution
of the duties of their assessment. It is not in the
nature of this enquiry to explain for what purpose or
by what means the opposition was made ; it is not
necessary to say, whether the complaints urged,
were well or ill founded, because it is a settled
point, that any insurrection for removing public
grievances^ whether the complaints be real or pre-
tended, amounts to treason, because it is not the
mode pointed out by law for obtaining redress. It
will then be sufficient to shew you, that discontents
did exist, and that in various townships of those
counties ; that in several townships, associations
of the people were actually formed, in order to
prevent the persons charged with the execution of
those laws of the United States, from performing
their duty upon them, and more particulary to pre-
vent the assessors from measuring their houses.

288 THE ADMINISTRATION

This opposition was made at many public town-
ship meetings, called for the purpose; in many in-
stances, resolutions were entered into and reduced
to writing, solemnly forwarning the officers, whose
duty it was to execute the laws, and these many
times accompanied with threats, if they should per-
form that duty. Not only so, but discontents pre-
vailed to such an height, that even the friends of
the government in that part were completely sup-
pressed, by menaces against any who should assist
those officers in their duty -, repeated declarations
were made both at public as well asprivate meetings,
that if any person should be arrested by the civil
authority, such arrest would be followed by the ris-
ing of the people, in opposition to that authority,
for the purpose of rescuing such arrested prison-
ers : it will appear to you farther, gentlemen, in the
course of evidence, that during those discontents,
indefatigable pains v/ere taken by those who were
charged with the execution of the laws, to calm
the fears and to remove the misapprehensions of
the infatuated people ; for this purpose, they read
and explained the law to them, and informed them,
that they were misled into the idea, that the law
was not in force, for that it actually was ; at the
same time warning them of the consequences
which would flow from opposition, and this was
accompanied with promises, that even their most
capricious wishes would be gratified on their obe-
dience. The favor was in many instances granted,
that where any opposition was made to any certain

OF JOHN ADAMS. 289

person executing the office of assessor, in some
townships proposals were made for the people to
choose for themselves, but notwithstanding this
accommodating offer, the opposition continued.

" After having showed to you the general extent
of this combination and dangerous conspiracy,
which existed in all the latitude I have opened to
your view, we shall next give in evidence full proof
that, the consequences were actual opposition and
resistance : in some parts violence was actually used,
and the assessors were taken and imprisoned by
armed parties3and in other, mobs assembled to com-
pel them either to deliver up their papers or to resigri
their commissions; that in some instances they Were
threatened with bodily harm, so that in those parts,
the obnoxious law did remain unexecuted in con-
sequence of this alarm. Seeing the state of the
insurrection and rebellion had arisen to such a
height, it became necessary, in order to support the
dignity, and indeed the very existence of th^ go-
vernment, that some means should be adopted to
compel the execution of those laws, and warrants
were in consequence issued against certain per-
sons, who had so opposed the UWs -, these pro-
cesses being put into the hands of the marshal of
the district, were served upon some of them : in
some instances during the execution of that duty,
the marshal met with insult, and almost with vio-
lence ; having, however, got nearly the whole of tlie
warrants served, he appointed head-quarters for
these prisoners to rendezvous at Bethelem, where

Oo '

=290 THE ADMINISTRATION

some of them were to enter bail for their appear-
ance in the city, and others were to come to the
city in custody for trial. It will appear to you,
that on the day thus appointed for the prisoners to
meet, and when a number of them had actually
assembled agreeable to appointment, that a num-
ber of parties in arms, both horse and foot, more
than one hundred men accoutred with all their mi-
litary apparatus, commanded in some instances by
their proper officers, marched to Bethlehem, col-
lected before the house in which were the marshal
and prisoners, whom they demanded to be delivered
up to them, and in consequence of refusal, they
proceeded to act very little short of actual hostility,
so that the marshal deemed it prudent to accede to
their demands, and the prisoners were liberated.

" This, gentlemen, is the general history of the
insurrection : I shall now state to you the part which
the unfortunate prisoner at the bar took in those hos-
tile transactions. It will appear that the prisoner i$
an inhabitant of the township of lower Milford, in
the county of Bucks ; that some time in February
last, a public meeting was held at the house of one
John Kline in that township, to consider, in rela-
tion to this house-tax, what was to be done \ that at
that meeting, certain resolutions were entered into,
and a paper signed, (we have endeavored to trace
this paper so as to produce it to the court and jury,
but have failed 3) this paper was signed by fifty-two
persons, and committed to the hands of one of their
number : John Fries was present at this meeting.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 291

and' assisted in drawing up the paper, at which
time his expressions against this law were ex-
tremely violent, and he threatened to shoot one of
the assessors, Mr. Foulke, through the legs, if he
did proceed to assess the houses. Again, the pri-
soner at a vendue threatened another of the asses-
sors, Mr. S. Clarke, that if he attempted to go on
with the assessments; he should be committed to an
old stable, and there fed on rotten corn. We shal!
further prove, that upon its being intimated by some
of them to Mr. Chapman, principal assessor, that
if they might choose their own assessors, things
would go on quietly ; he directed that they should'
do so; but still they continued in opposition to the
law, and would not choose an officer at all. A cre-
neral meeting was called to read and explain the
law to the people, and thus remove any wrong im-
pressions and misapprehensions ; the principal
assessor was at that meeting ; but the rudeness,
opposition and violence used by the people pre-
vented him from doing so, which was an evident
proof that they did not want to hear the law, and
that they understood enough of it to oppose it.
Thus the benevolent intentions of that meeting
was frustrated. We shall further show you, that
the assessor of low^er Milford was intimidated so
as to decline making the assessments, and that the
principal assessor, together with three other asses-
sors, were obliged to go into]that township to exe-
cute the law ; that they proceeded in the execu-
tion of their duty, during a part of the day of the

292 THE ADJS^INISTRATION

5tb of March last, without any impediment s that
at eleven o'clock in the morning, Mr. Chapman
met at the house of Jacob Fries, in lower Milford,
"with the prisoner, when he, the prisoner, declared
his determination not to submit, but to oppose the
law, and that by the next morning he could raise
700 men in opposition to it : that upon Mr. Chap-
man telling him, that many houses were assessed,
the prisoner flew into a violent passion, absolutely
declaring, that it should soon be in this country as
it was in France. We shall farther shew you, that
at another time during the same day, the prison-
er met with two of the assessors, Mr. Roderick
and Mr. Foulke, whom he warned not to proceed
in the execution of their duty, accompanied with
threats, that if they did they would be hurt, and
left them in a great rage. Farther, he proceeded
to collect parties, with whom he went in search
of those men, and attacked them in executing
their duty. ...one of them escaped, but the other
he took, but not having got Mr. Roderick, who
appeared to be a particular object of resent-
ment, he let Mr. Foulke go, telling him he would
have them again the next day. He told Mr.
Clarke, that if he had met with Roderick, he
would not have let him go so easy, and declared
to him solemnly and repeatedly, that it was his
determination to oppose the laws. We shall far-
ther shew you, that after having discharged Foulke,
he proceeded to collect a large party in the town-
ship, in order to take the assessors the next cjay.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 293

Accordingly on the day following a numerous party,
to wit, about 50 or 60, the greatest part of whom
were in arms, collected together and pursued the
assessors, and not finding them in that township,
pursued them into another, in order not only to
chace them out of the township, but generally to
prevent them executing their duty. This party
collected, not only many of them in arms, but in
milhary array, with drum and fife, and commanded
by this Captain Fries, and one Kuyder : Fries him-
self was armed with a large horse pistol. Thus
equipped they went to Quaker-town, in order to
accomplish their purpose, where they found the as-
sessors ; two of whom they took, but Roderick fled.
Fries ordered his men to fire at the man who fled,
and the piece was snapped, but did not go ofl^.
Fries did then compel Foulke to deliver up to them
his papers, but not finding in them what they expect-
ed, they were returned, but at the same time exact-
ing a promise, that he, the assessor, should not pro-
ceed in the valuation of the houses in lower Mil-
ford. Fries was, in many instances, extremely vio-
lent against this law, and peremptory in his deter-
mination not to submit to it, as will appear by the
evidence.

" When they left Quaker-town, they met with
a travelling man, who expressed some good will to-
wards the government, and for that expression
they maltreated him very much, and expressed their
general dislike to all who supported the same prin-
ciple. During the time they w^re at Quaker-town,

294 THE ADMINISTRATION

intimation was received that the marshal had taken
a number of persons prisoners, in consequence of
opposing the execution of this law, whereupon a
determination was formed amongst those people,
to go and effect their rescue, and the people of
Milford were generally invited to assist in this bu-
siness. When they were going, the party halted at
the house of John Fries, and then a paper was
signed, by which they bound themselves volunteers
to go upon the execution of this design : this pa-
per was written by the prisoner at the bar, and sign-
ed by him and the rest ; therein they engaged to
go and rescue the prisoners w^ho had been arrested
by the marshal. On the morning of the next day
20 or more of them met at the house of Conrod
Marks, in arms, to go on with their design. John
Fries was armed with a sword, and had a feather
in his hat. On the road as they went forward
they were met by young Marks, who told them that
they might as well turn about, for that the North-
ampton people were strong enough to do the busi-
liess without those from Buck's county; some
were so inclined to do, but at the instance of Fries
and some others, they did go forward, and actually
proceeded to Bethlehem.. Before the arrival of these
troops, a party going on the same business had stop-
ped at the bridge, a small distance from Bethlehem,
when they had been met by a deputation from the
marshal, whom he had prevailed on to go and
meet them, in order to advise them to return home ;
thev agreed to halt there, and to send three of their

OF JOHN ADAMS. 295

number to declare to the marshal what was their
demand. It was during this period that Fries and
his party came up, but it appears that when they
came, Fries took the party actually over the bridge,
and that he arranged the toll with the man and or-
dered them to proceed. With respect to proof of
the proceedings at Bethlehem, it cannot be mis-
taken ; he was there the leading man, and he ap-
pears to enjoy the command. With the con-
sent of his people he demanded the prisoners of
the marshal, and when that officer told him that he
could not surrender them, except they were taken
from him by force, and produced his warrant for
taking them, the prisoner thenharrangued his party
out of the house, and explained to them the neces-
sity of using force ; and that you should not mistake
his design, we will prove to you that he declared,
•'that was the third day which he had been out on
this expedition, that he had had a skirmish the day
before, and that if the prisoners were not released
he should have another that day. Now you observe,"
resumed he, " that force is necessary, but you must
obey my orders, we will not go without taking
the prisoners ; but take my orders, you must not fire
first ; must be first fired upon, and when I am gone
then you must do as well as you can, as I expect to
be the first man that falls." He farther declared to
the marshal, that thev '' would fire till a cloud of
smoke prevented thein from seeing one another ;**
and executing the office of commander of the
troops, which at that time overawed the marshal

-^i.

296 THE ADMINISTRATION

and his attendants, harrangued the troops to obey
his orders, which they accordingly did, and the
marshal was really intimidated to liberate the pri-
soners ; and then the object was accomplished,
and the party dispersed amidst the huzzas of
the insurgents. After this affair at Bethlehem,
it will be given you in evidence that the prisoner
frequently avowed his opposition to the laws and
justified that outrage ; and when a meeting was
afterwards held at lower Milford to choose asses-
sors, the prisoner refused his assent to the accom-
modating object of the meeting, and appeared as
violent as ever."

William Henry, William Barnett, John Barnett,
Christian Winters, Christian Boths^ Colonel Ni-
chols, Philip Sehlaugh, Joseph Horsefield, John
Mopollan, and several others, were called on the
part of the prosecutor, whose evidence went to
confirm the several charges stated by Mr. Sitgreaves.

Mr. Dallas, as counsel for the prisoner, endea-
vored to prove that the crime of which Fries was
guilty, did not amount to treason. He challeng-
ed the prosecuting counsel to say, in what part of
the evidence it had appeared, that the insurgents
w^ent further than to declare that the law did not
please them ; that though they did not mean to
compel Congress to repeal it, they had some
doubts and w^ished to ascertain whether it existed
or not y to know whether the country in general
had submitted to it ; to know whether General
Washington was not dissatisfied with it, and to see

GF JOHN ADAMS. 297

whether they could not get the assessors appointed
by themselves. Under these impressions mar.y ir-
regularities occurred; but he asked the adverse
counsel to point out if they had discovered through
the whole course of the business^ any insurrec-
tion existing^ any traiterous design, till the meet-
ing at Bethlehem ; or whether, till that moment,
the inhabitants of Northampton could be said to
have been guilty of any crime ? He requested the
gentlemen of the jury-to view for a moment the mo-
tives of the people in the lawless scene at Beth-
lehem. What did they do ? They rescued the
marshal's prisoners -, and when they effected the
rescue, they dispersed : their whole object then
was consummated ; for he presumed they con-
templated nothing further, as he saw them attempt
nothing more ; and yet the time was very, favor-
able to accomplish a more extensive design, if it
had ever been meditated.

There was another circumstance, Mr. Dallas
said, to which he wished to lead the attention of the
jury. He found there was an indisposition to allow
a particular class of officers to make the assess-
ments ; and the people urged, that if it was to be
done, it should be done by their own assessors.
In this important point, therefore^ the particular
officers, and not the law, formed the object of
resentment and opposition on this distinction.
He had the respected authority of Mr. Bradford^
the late Attorney-General of the United States, for
asserting that the offence was riot, and not treason.

PP

298 THE ADMINISTRATION-

The acts committed during that scene of tumult^,
ought to be punished, and he hoped would be pun-
ished ; but as acts of riot and sedition, not as acts
of treason.

He was sensible it was possible to draw distinc-
tions, to refine upon the meaning and pervert the
language of the act; but, on principles of human-
ity, he was confident the prosecutor would abstain
from a mere exercise of ingenuity and eloquence,
while he, who contended in favour of life, had a
claim to every indulgence ; a right to the benefit
of every shade of discrimination.

Mr. Dallas concluded, by pointing out the dif-
ferences in the nature, progress and turpitude of
the Northampton irfcsurrection and of the western
insurrection : he also analysed the case of Lord
George Gordon, and contended, that upon this au-
thority alone, the prisoner ought to be acquitted.
In the case of Lord Gordon, the direct, the avowed
.object, was to obtain the repeal of a law ; and as
petitions and remonstrances were unavailing, a
body of 40,000 men were convened, and mar-
shalled to surround, intimidate and coerce the par-
liament. Riot, arson, murder, and every species
of the most daring outrage and devastation ensued i
and yet the only prosecution for high treason was
instituted against the leader of the association ;
and that prosecution terminated in an acquittal^
" View then, the riots of Lord George Gordon,*'
(exclaimed Mr. Dallas) ''estimate their guilt by
the avowed object ^ aggravate the scene with the

OjF JOHN Ar>AM3. ^9f>

contemporaneous insults and violence offered to
the persons of peers and commoners, and close the
retrospect with the horrors which the British me-
tropolis endured for more than eight days, and then
say what was the guilt of John Fries, compared
with the guilt of Lord George Gordon ? what is
there in the English doctrine of treason, that has
justified an acquittal of the latter ? what is there
in the American doctrine of treason, that willjusti-
fy a conviction of the former ?

'' Gentlemen, I can proceed no longer. ...the life
of the prisoner is left with great confidence in your
hands. There are attempts to make him respon-
sible, under the notion of a general conspiracy, for
all the actions, and all the words of meetings, which
he never attended, and of persons whom he ne\^r
saw\ But this is too, too harsh^ in case of blood:
it is inconsistent with the humanity, the tenderness
of life, which are characteristics of the Americaa
people, and especially of the people of Pennsylva-
nia. Nor is it called for by the policy or practice
of those who administer our government. I believe
that to the chief magistrate, to every public ofiicer,
to every candid citizen, it will be a matter of gra-
tification if, after so fair, so full a scrutiny, you
should be of opinion, that treason has not been
committed. Such an event will by no means en-
sure impunity to the delinquent ; for though he has
not committed treason, though the punishment of
death is not to be inflicted, the violation of the
laws may be amply avenged upon an indictment

^00 THE ADxMlNISTRATlON

of a different nature. The only question, how-
ever, now to be decided is, whether the offence
proved is, like the offence charged, treason against
the United States. The affirmation must be incon-
testably established, as to the fact and the intention,
by the testimony of two witnesses to the same
overt act ; but remember, I pray you, what the
venerable Lord Mansfield stated to the jury on
Lord Gordon's trial : for if you doubt (it is the
principle of law as well as humanity) you must
acquit."

Mr. Dallas then called several witnesses, in
order to prove that the crime with which Fries
was charged, only amounted to a riot.

Mr. Ewing, after the evidence on the part of
the prisoner was closed, addressed the jury in a
very pathetic and ingenious speech. He said he
was sensible that Fries had been guilty of a flagrant
violation of the law, an offence for which he de-
served to suffer, and which the good of society
required should be punished 3 but he contended
and asserted with confidence, because he thought
the law would bear him out, that no act the prison-
er had committed, could be construed treason by
the most rigid or strained construction of law.

Mr. Sitgreaves, spoke in reply.... after which
Mr. Lewis addressed the jury in behalf of Fries in
a speech of several hours in which he brought
forward every argument in defence of the prisoner
which legal knowledge or ingenuity could suggest.

Mr. Rawle closed the prosecution ; after which

OF JOHN ADAxMS. 501

Judge Iredell summoned up the evidence on botli
sides, but not with that candor the case required.
An evident bias against the prisoner was display-
ed both in his speech, in his looks and his gestures.

The jury withdrew for about three hours, and
then returned with a verdict. ...guilty.

This trial occupied the unremitted attention of
the court and jury from April 3oth until May 9th,
inclusive, during which time the jury never sepa-
rated.

The court having met on the 14th of May, to
pronounce sentence, Mr. Lewis read several de-
positions, which imported, that John Rhead, one
of the jury-men, had declared a prejudice against
the prisoner, after he was summoned as a juror on
the trial. He said he found that he could procure
other affidavits to the same fact, on the ground of
which he moved a rule when the court last met, to
show cause why there ought not to be a new trial.
Jle expressed himself aware of the lateness of the
period, a verdict having been given, but the impos-
sibility of proving the fact earlier, was a sufficient
apology. He should forbear to enter into the me-
rits of the motion at that time.

Several witnesses were examined, who depo-
sed that Rhead had used several harsh expressions
respecting Fries, after he had been summoned as
a juror. This fact having been proved to the satis-
faction of the court, a new trial was granted :
the particulars of which will be given in another
chapter.

302 iH£ ADMINISTP.ATIOJ?*

CHAPTER XI.

Triah of Jonathan Rohbhis, Isaac TVilliayns and
William FrotJiinghain.

1 HE fate of Jonathan Robbins, and the story
of this unfortunate seaman, are too well known and
too deeply impressed on the hearts of Americans to
require any comment or introductory remarks pre-
vious to the narration of the mock trial which the
clemency of a Southern Jucige granted him.

On the 25th of July, 1799, he was brought be-
fore Judge Bee, of the district court of South-Caro-
lina, in virtue of a demand made by his Britannic
Majesty's consul, (on suspicion of his having been
concerned in a mutiny on board the British frigate
Hermione, in 1797) that he might be delivered up,
(to be sent to Jamaica for trial) in virtue of the
27th article of thetreaty between the United States
and Great-Britain, which article runs thus

" It is further agreed, that his Majesty and
the United States on mutual requisitions, by them
respectively, or by their respective ministers or offi-
cers, authorized to make the same, will deliver
up to justice all persons who, being charged with
murder or forgery committed within the jurisdiction
of either, shall seek an assylum within any of the
countries of the other : provided that this shall on-
ly be done on such evidence of criminality, as ac-
cording to the laws of the place where the fugi-

p5

OF JOHN ADAMS- 6

Is
live or person so charged shall be found, would ji:

tifyhis apprehension, and a commitment for trial,.

if the offence had been committed. The expence

of such apprehension and delivery shall be borne

and defrayed by those who make the requisition

and receive the fugitive."

The commitment of the prisoner was ground-
ed on the two following affidavits :
^' South-Carolina District.

" William Portlock, a native of Portsmouth, in
the State of Virginia, upwards of eighteen years
old, appeared before me, and being duly sworn,
made oath, that he was one of the crew before the
mast in the schooner Tanner's Delight, which was
.commanded by Captain White, who arrived here
about three weeks ago ; that a person who answer-
by the name of Nathan Robbins, came also in the
said vessel, before the mast, with him ; that he,
said Robbins, is a tall man, middle size, had long
black hair, dark complexion, with a scar on one of"
his lips ; that on and about last Christmas night, he
was present, and heard the said Robbins talking in
the harbor of the city of St. Domingo to some French
privateers-men, who were on board the Tanner's
Delight, when and where he informed them, in his
hearing, that he, the said Robbins, was boatswain's
mate of his Majesty's frigate Hermione, when she
w^as carried into the port Cavilla ; and added, that
they had no occasion to take notice of that. And
after the above time, sometimes when he was drunk,
he, the said Robbins, would mention the name of

^^% THE ADMINISTRATION

e Hermlone, and say bad luck to her, and clench
his fist.

his
"WILLIAMS PORTLOCK-

mark.
"Sworn before me, this 20th February, 1799,

" THOMAS HALL, j. p. & u."

" United States of Americay South-Car olina District,
*' Personally came and appeared before me
Lieutenant John Forbes, who being duly sworn,
deposeth, that a person confined in the gaol of this
district, who calls himself Nathan Robbins, but
whose real name this deponent believes to be Tho-
mas Nash, was a seaman on board the Hermi-
one, British frigate, in which the deponent was a
midshipman from the 8th of February, 1797, until
the 30th of August following; during which time
the said Nash was personally known to this depo-
nent ; that this deponent was removed from the said
frigate to the sloop of war Diligence, on the said
30th day of August, 1797. This deponent further
deposeth,thaton the 19th of September following,
he was sent on board of the said British frigate, at
which time he saw and left the said Nash in the
same station, on board that vessel, as he was at the
time of this deponent's being a midshipm.an therein.
That on the 22d of the said month, the crew mu-
tinied on board the said frigate, killed the princi-
pal officers, piratically possessed themselves of her,
carried her into Laguira, and there disposed of her
to certain subjects of his Catholic Majesty. That

OF JOHN ADAMS. 305

the said Thomas Nash was one of the principals
in the commission of the said acts of murder and
piracy; whose conduct in that transaction has be-
come known to this deponent by depositions made,
and testimony given in court-martial, where some
of the said crew have been tried.

'^ JOHN FORBES.
" Sworn before me this IfSth April, 1799,

" THOiMAS BEE,
^' District Judge, South-Carolina."

Upon a candid review of these depositions,
there does not appear to have existed the slightest
cause for even a commitment of Jonathan Robbins.
The testimony on the part of Portlock is trifling in
the extreme, and that of lieutenant Forbes entirely
verbal report. In the article of the British treaty
there is not a word said of any fugitive that may be
found within their dominions, charged with hav-
ing committed offences at sea on board of Amer-
ican vessels. It is entirely confined to cases within
the jurisdiction of each, that is territorial jurisdic-
tion ; for had the minister of Britain considered
dhips as the territory specified in the treaty, he cer-
tainly would, by a particular clause, have provided
for cases arising at sea.

That the British government considered the
word territory, as not applying to ships, is evident
from a circumstance wllich occurred soon after.
The crew of an American vessel rose upon their
Captain, whose name w^as Little, murdered him
and his mate, and then carried the vessel into Bri-

Qq

306 THE ADMINISTRATION

tain. The mutineers^ in place of being sent back
to America, were tried and executed in England.

Judge Bee, some days before the court met,
received a letter from the Secretary of State, men-
tioning that an application had been made by the
British minister, Mr. Listen, to the President, for
the delivery of the prisoner, under the 27th article
of Jay's treaty, and containing these words : the
President " advises and requests you to deliver him

Thisletter wasnot readin court, though it was
shewn to the counsel on both sides, but the follow-
ing certificate and affidavit were produced in be-
half of the prisoner, by his counsel, Messrs, Moul-
trie and Ker:
" United States of America, State o/Nexv-York.

" By this public instrument, be it known, &c.
that I, John Keese, a public Notary, &c. do hereby
certify, that Jonathan Robbins, who had subscri-
bed these presents, personally appeared before me,
and being by me duly sworn according tolaw^ de-
posed : that he is a citizen of the United States of
America, and liable to be called into the service of
his country, and is to be respected accordingly at
all times by sea and land.

" Whereof an attestation being required, I have
granted this under my notarial hand and seal.

" Done at the City of New-York, in the State
of New-York, the 20th day of May, 1795.
" Quod attestor,
*' JOHN KEESE, Notary Public;'

OF JOHN ADAMS. 307

" Jonathan Robbins, mariner, a prisoner now
in the custody of the marshal of the district court of
the United States, for South-Carolina, being duly
sworn, saith he is a native of the State of Connecti-
cut, and born in Danbury, in that State ; that he has
never changed his allegiance to his native country ;
and that about two years ago, he was pressed from
on board the brig' Betsey, of New- York,^commanded
by Captain White, and was detained there contrary
to his will, into the service of the British nation,
until the said vessel was captured by those of her
crew, who took her into a Spanish port by force ;
and that he gave no assistance in such capture.,
" JONATHAN ROBBINS.

" Sworn this 25th July, 1799, before me,

" THOMAS HALL.
" Federal Clerk, and J. P. &. U.*'

The signature made by the prisoner to this affi-
davit in court, appeared to be in the same hand-
writing as the signature made to the one in 1795,
from which circumstance it maybe presun^d, that
Jonathan Robbins is the prisoners real name. The
body of the affidavit made in New -York in 1795,
was printed; the names, dates, signatures, &c.
were filled up in writing ; it had the notarial seal of
John Keese, Esq. affixed, and had the appear-
ance of being a genuine paper, used by seamen at
that day as a protection.

These jiffidavits, and the question whether the
prisoner was an American, and an impressed sea-
man or not, were in the opinion of the court alto-

508 THE ADMINISTRATION

gether immaterial ; and Judge Bee, without any he-
sitation pronounced the decree for delivering up
a fellow-citizen into the hands of a foreign execu-
tioner. Poor Robbins was then immediately con-
veyed on board a British sloop of war, which car-
ried him to Jamaica, where he received the igno-
minious death of a traiterous assassin.

On the 28th of September a trial of the most
momentous nature came on before the circuit court
at Hartford, in Connecticut. An indictment was
laid against one Isaac Williams, for having, on the
27th of February, at Guadeloupe, accepted from the
French Republic a commission and instructions
against the king of Great Britain and his subjects,
contrary to the twenty-first article of the treaty with
the United States.

It was admitted on the part of Williams, that he
had committed the facts alledged against him in the
indictment; but in his defence, he offered to prove
that in the year 1792, he received from the Consul-
General of the French Republic a warrant appoint*
ing him a 3d heutenant on board the Jupiter, a
French 74 gun ship ; that pursuant to the appoint-
ment, he went on board the Jupiter, took the com-
mand to which he was appointed, which vessel soon
after sailed for France, and arrived at Rochfort in
in the autumn of the same year. That at Rochfort,
he was duly naturalized in the various Bureaus in
that port, renouncing his allegiance to all other
countries, particularly to America, and taking a

OF JOHN ADAMS. 309

solemn oath of allegiance to the Republic of
France, who appointed him a second lieutenant
on board a French frigate, called the Charont, and
that before the ratification of the treaty of amity
and commerce between the United States and
Great Britain, he was duly commissioned a second
lieutenant on board a seventy-four gun ship, in the
service of the said Republic ; and that he had ever
since continued under the government of that
nation, most of the time actually resided in the
dominions of the French Republic ; that during
the said period, he was not resident in the United
States more than six months, which was in the
year 1796, when he came to this country for the
purpose merely of visiting his relations and friends;
that for about the three last years of his life, he had
been domiciliated in the island of Guadaloupe,
within the dominions of the French Republic, and
had made that place his fixed habitation, v/ithout
any design of again returning to the United States
for permanent residence.

The attorney for the district agreed that the
above statement was true ; but objected, that it
ought not to be admitted as evidence to the jury ;
because it could have no operation in lav/ to jus-
tify the prisoner for committing the facts alledged
against him in the indictment.

The question was then argued on both sides, by
the counsel for the United States, and by thecoua-
sel for the prisoner.

310 THE ADMINISTRATION

Mr. Law, District Judge, expressed doubts as
to the legal operation of the evidence ; and gave
it as his opinion, that the evidence and the opera-
tion of law thereon, be left to the consideration of
the jury.

Mr. Elsworth, Chie/ Justice of the United
States, gave his opinion on the question nearly to
the following effect :

" The common law of this country remains the
same as it was before the revolution. The present
question is to be decided by two great principles ;
one is, that all the members of civil community are
bound to each other by compact ; the other is, that
one of the parties to this compact cannot dissolve
it by his own act. The compact between our com-
munity and its members is, that the community
will protect its members, and on the part of the
members, that they will at all times be obedient to
the laws of the community, and faithful in its de-
fence. This compact distinguishes our govern-
ment from those which are founded in violence or
fraud. It necessarily results, that the member can-
not dissolve this compact, without the consent or '
default of the community. There has been no con-
sent....no defaults.... default is not pretended

express consent is not claimed ; but it has been
argued, that the consent of the community is im-
plied by its policy, its condition and its acts. In
countries so crowded with inhabitants, that the
means of subsistence are difficult to be obtained,
it is reason and policy to permit emigration. But

OF JOHN ADAMS. 311

our policy is different, for our country is but sparely
settled, and we have no inhabitants to spare.

" Consent has been argued froni the condition of
the country, because we were in a state of peace ;
the war had commenced in Europe. We wished
to have nothing to do with the w^ar ; but the war
would have something to do with us. It has been
extremely difficult for us to keep out of this war;
the progress of it has threatened to involve us. It
has been necessary for our government to be vigi-
lant in restraining our own citizens from those acts
which would involve us in hostilities. The most
visionary writers on this subject, do not contend for
the principle in the unlimited extent, that a citizen
may at any and all times, renounce his own, and
join himself to a foreign country.

" Consent has been argued, from the acts of our
own government, permitting the naturalization of
foreigners. When a foreigner presents himself here,
and proves himself to be of a good moral character,
well affected to the constitution and government of
the United States, and a friend to the good order
and happiness of civil society ; if he has resided
here the time prescribed by law, we grant him the
privileges of a citizen. We do not enquire what
his relation is to his own country ; we have not the
means of knowing, and the enquiry would be inde-
licate ; we leave him to judge of that. If he em-
braces himself by contracting contradictory obliga-
tions, the faults and the folly art- his own. But this

Sl'i THE ADMINISTRATION

implies no consent of the government, that our owa
citizens should expatriate themselves.

" Therefore, it is my opinion, that these facts
which the prisoner offers to prove in his defence,
are totally irrevelant ; they can have no operation
in law, and the jury ought not to be embarrassed
or troubled with them ; but by the constitution of
the court the evidence must go to thejury.'*

The cause and the evidence were accordingly
committed to the jury, who returned a verdict find-
ing the prisoner guilty.

The court sentenced him to pay a fine of 1000
dollars, and to suffer four months imprisonment,

Isaac Williams was also indicted before the
same court, for having on the 22d of September,
1799, in a hostile manner, with a privateer com-
missioned by the French Republic, attacked and
captured a British ship and crew on the high seas.
Williams's defence on the first indictment being of
no avail, and having no other defence but this, he
pleaded guilty.

The court sentenced him to pay a fine of 100©
dollars, and to suffer a further imprisonment of four
months.

This decision called loudly for the examination
not only of individual citizens, but of each State
Legislature, and of Congress itself. The opinion of
Judge Elsworth, respecting the validity of the
common law, was both dangerous and absurd.
The gi-ounds upon which he denied an American
citizen the right of expatriation, were equ-ally un-

OF JOHN AD.VM?;. 313

founded. The merits, therefore, of these questions
were immediately taken up and fully discussed by
several writers of the first legal abilities. Two let-
ters in particular appeared in the Examiner, under
the signature of Aristogeton, which treated this
subject to its very foundation; and exposed com-
pletely tlie fallacy of the arguments adduced by the
Chief Justice.

" What are the naturalization laws of the Uni-
ted States ?" exclaims this writer. " They are laws
authorizing the subjects and citizens of foreign
nations to become citizens of this country ; and
they point out the particular mode in which they
may become citizens. ...that these laws do admit
that the members of other communities have a
right to throw off their allegiance to their own coun-
try, is evident from the language. He (the Alien)
shall at the time of his application to be admitted,
declare on oath or affirmation, that he will support
the constitution of the United States ; and that he
doth absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure
all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince,
potentate, state or sovereignty whatever; and par-
ticularly to name the prince, potentate, state or
sovereignty, whereof he was before a citizen or
subject.

" The Alien, who visits our country for the
purpose of becoming a citizen, either had a right
to throw off his allegiance to his former sovereign
without obtaining the consent of that sovereign,
or he has not such right. If he has such right it

Rr

314 THE ADMINISTRATION

must be a natural one, because no code of munici-
pal laws in Europe grants the right; nay some of
them expressly take it a-.vay. If it is a natural right,
it belongs equally to all mankind ; the citizens of
America, therefore, are equally entitled to it with
the rest of mankind. But of natural rights, men
cannot be fairly and properly deprived. No Con-
gress, therefore, can properly deprive an American
citizen of this right. Great God ! what must have
been the feelings of Judge Elsworth when he was
depriving Williams of this natural right ? But I
will suppress the emotions which beat in my bo-
som, upon the recollection of this hideous sentence,
and 1 will proceed to examine cooly and dispas-
sionately the question. If the Alien had not aright
to throw off his allegiance to his own country, then
Congress, by making the law, have deprived foreign
governments of one of their most essential rights,
and have been moreover guilty of a crime which
approaches very nearly to that of man-stealing.
Yes ! if an individual has not a right to throw off
the allegiance of his country, if his sovereign's
consent is necessary, and if our laws do not require
that that consent should be given, we have cer-
tainly violated the rights of all the sovereigns in the
world. Y/e have decoyed and spirited away from
their own homes the members of all the sovereignT
ties of Europe ; we have decoyed them by the most
extensive promises ; by the promise that they shall
after a short time become the citizens of a free
Republic i that they shall enjoy here all the boun-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 315

ties of nature, and possess in security all the pro-
ducts of their labor. This promise has been unac-
companied with any requisition of their sovereigns
consent, and if we had not a right to make such an
unqualified promise, we have (I aver again) been
guilty of man-stealing. ...And as the punishment of
man-stealing is death, so, when nations are guilty
of it, a just foundation is laid for war. Now, what-
ever right an individual may have to think that the
people and the Congress of the United States have
violated the rights of other sovereigns, certainly a
Judge can have no right to make such declaration
from the Bench of Justice. Such is the dilemma
in which Judge Elsworth has placed himself.. ..He
must either admit that, according to the principles
of our naturalization laws, our citizens have a right
to expatriate themselves, or that the legislature of
the United States, that body whose laws (when they
are constituted) he is bound to expound and en-
force, have been guilty of the most horrible of all
crimes, and have given a sufficient cause of war
to all the nations in the w^orld.'*

On Thursday the 21st. of November, at New-
York, David Frothingham was indicted for a libel
against Alexander Hamilton, Esq. Major-General
in the service of the United States.

The publication which gave rise to the indict-
ment was copied into the Argus of the 6th instant,
from the Constitutional Telegraph, and is as fol-
lows •

316 THE ADMINISTRATION

^^ Extract of a letter from Philadelphia, September 2Q.

*' An effort was recently made to suppress the
Aurora, and Alexander Hamilton was at the bottom
of it. Mrs. Bachewas offered 6000 dollars down, in
the presence of several persons, in part payment,
the valuation to be left to two impartial persons,
and the remainder paid immediately on her giving
up the paper; but she pointedly refused it, and
declared she would not dishonor her husband's me-
mory, nor her children's future fame, by such base-
ness ; w^hen she parted with the paper it should
be to Republicans only.

" I am proud to hear of your honorable State's
republicanism. ...The change in men's minds here
is truly astonishing."

The business was opened by Mr. Hoffman, as
Attorney-General. The bench consisted of Judge
Radcliff, Richard Harrison, Recorder, and the
Mayor of the city. No evidences were sworn on
either side, except Mr. C. Golden, Assistant-
Attorney, and General Hamilton himself.

>,Ir. Golden stated, that at the instance of a let-
ter from Major-General Hamilton, he had called at
the office of the Argus, and was introduced to Mr.
Frothingham, as conductor of the business -, that
after some conversation, Mr. Frothingham said, he
expected that he was liable for any publications
which appeared in the Argus, but repeatedly
observed, that he saw no criminality in the present
instance as it respected him ; the plea in dispute
having been copied from another paper: Mr.

#F JOHN ADAMS. S17

Colden added, that in pursuance of this declaration
Mr. Frothingham was arrested.

Major-General Hamilton was called upon, on
the part of the State, to prove that he was inno-
cent of the charge alledged against him. This
was objected to by Mr. B. Livingston counsel for
the defendant ; and the objection admitted by the
court. The General was then asked to explain cer-
tain innuendoes in the indictment,"respecting specu-
lation, &c. This having been done, he was inter-
rogated what was generally understood by secret ser-
vice money f being very well versed in the vernacular
tongue, he found some difficulty in the explana-
tion ; but gave it as his opinion, that it meant mo-
ney appropriated by a government, generally for
corrupt purposes, as it respected the country and
government in which it was to be distributed ;
but in support of the government which gave it !
He was then asked, whether he considered the
Aurora as hostile to the government of the United
States ? and he replied in the affirmative ! This
c!osed the testimony.

Mr. Brockholst Livingston then attempted to
prove that Mr. Frothingham was not responsible ;
that his declaration to Mr. Colden should not be
admitted as proof against him, and that the Attor-
ney ought to have arrested the Editor. In reply to
this, Mr. HolTman contended, that every journey-
man and apprentice in the printing-office was lia-
ble to a prosecution, as having been accessary to
the pubUcation of the Ubel, and consequently Mr.

318 THE ADMINISTRATION

Frothingham, as foreman of the office, was particu-
larly so. To this extravagant and infamous doc-
trine, Mr. Livingston replied with his usual perti-
nancy and eloquence. Mr. Livingston offered to
adduce proofs of the situation in which Mr. Froth-
ingham was placed in the office of the Argus ; but
this was overruled by the Court. He then went
into an examination of the publication, and hav-
ing dissected it in a masterly manner, concluded
his defence with a few general observations.

The Jury found a verdict of guilty, but recom-
mended Mr. Frothingham to the mercy of the
Court. The latter fined him in 100 dollars, and
sentenced him to four months confinement in bride-
well.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 31^

CHAPTER XII.

Remarks upon an Aristocratical form of Govern-
ment..,. The Adrmnhtratioii 0^ Mr. Adams com-
pared to an Aristocracy, ,,^:luarrd at Trenton^ be-
tween Mr. Adams and his Ministers.. ..Hamil-
ton's letter respecting their dijfei^ence,,,. Appoint-
ment of an Embassy to France*. ••Characters of
the Envoys..,* Anecdotes of Adams and Franklin...^
Adams's jealousy and dislike to Franklin.., .Adams
endeavors to calumniate Frankli7i...,V indication
of Franklin.. ..Memoirs of Alexander Hamilton.

il/xpERiENCE has proved, that of the various
forms of Government which have prevailed in the
world, an Aristocracy is one of the weakest, and
least favorable to the happiness of mankind. ...The
hereditary monarch may transmit through several
generations, an unlimited authority with consider-
able profit, both to art and science. ...The acknov/-
ledged right which he enjoys by birth, extinguishes
the spirit of faction, and renders him less cruel and
more attentive to the wants of the subject than an
host of tyrants, who, after having sported with the
liberties of the people, are under the necessity, in
order to retain the power they have unjustly seized,
to trample to the ground every species of honesty
and worth. This was the case with our late Pre-
sident and his associates : after having wrested
from their fellow-chizens the liberty cf speech,

318 THE ADMINISTRATION

Frothingham, as foreman of the office, was particu-
larly so. To this extravagant and infamous doc-
trine, Mr. Livingston replied with his usual perti-
nancy and eloquence. Mr. Livingston offered to
adduce proofs of the situation in which Mr. Froth-
ingham was placed in the office of the Argus • but
this was overruled by the Court. He then went
into an examination of the publication, and hav-
ing dissected it in a masterly manner, concluded
his defence with a few general observations.

The Jury found a verdict of guilty, but recom-
mended Mr. Frothingham to the mercy of the
Court. The latter fined him in 100 dollars, and
sentenced him to four months confinement in bride-
well.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 31^

CHAPTER XII.

Remarks upon an Aristocratkal fonn of Govern-
ment....Tlic Adimnistratiorl 0/ Mr. Adams com-
pared to an Aristocracy „.,2uarrd at Trenton, be-
tween Mr. Adams and his Ministers.. ..llamd-
ton's letter respecting tlieir difference. ,„Appoint-
vxent of an Embassy to France.., .Characters of
the Envoys... .Anecdotes of Adams and Franklin...*
Adams's jealousy and dislike to Franklin... .Adams
endeavors to calumniate Franklin....V indication
of Franklin.. ..Memoirs of Alexander Hamilton.

il/xpERiENCE has proved, that of the various
forms of Government which have prevailed in the
world, an Aristocracy is one of the weakest, and
least favorable to the happiness of mankind. ...The
hereditary monarch may transmit through several
generations, an unlimited authority with consider-
able profit, both to art and science. ...The acknov/-
ledged right which he enjoys by birth, extinginshes
the spirit of faction, and renders him less cruel and
more attentive to the wants of the subject than an
host of tyrants, who, after having sported with the
liberties of the people, are under the necessity, in
order to retain the power they have unjustly seized,
to trample to the ground every species of honesty
and worth. This was the case with our late Pre-
sident and his associates : after having wrested
from their fellow-citizens the liberty cf speech,

$^6 rut ADI^IlKIStRATION-

they established, under the mask of freedom, an
Aristocracy more powerful in its nature, than either
the Senate of Berne, the Nobility of Venice, or the
Directory of France. But mutual jealousy, which^
sooner orlater, overthrows the fabrics of the wicked,
overturned their schemes and ended their intentions.

In the town of Trenton, the capital of Jersey,
the first public schism in the Federal Cabinet took
place.

The particular expressions which passed on this
occasion, between the President and his Ministers,
never transpired ; but from the printed letter ad-
dressed to Mr. Adams, by General Hamilton, we
are informed of the principal cause of their differ-
ence.

Mr. Hamilton asserts, that after the failure of
the Pinckney Embassy to France, Mr. Adams
arrived at Philadelphia, from his seat at Quincy,
and that " the tone of his mind seemed to have
been raised ratherthan depressed." That his coun-
sellors suggested to him, it might be expedient
to insert in his speech to Congress, a sentiment
6f this import : '^ That after the repeatedly rejected
advances of this country, its dignity required that
it should be left with France in future to make the
^rst overture -, that if desirous of reconciliation,
she should evince the dispositon by sending a minis-
ter to this government, he would be received with
the respect due to his character, and treated with
the frankness of a sincere desire of accommodati-
on." Mr. Adams received this suggestion in a man-
ner both indignant and intemperate^ and declared^

OF JOHN ADAMS. 321

** TJiat if France should send a vibmter lo-morroiVy
he would order him back the day after, '^ But in leas
(says Mr. Hamilton) than forty-eight hours from
this extraordinary sally, the mind of Mr. Adams
underwent a total revolution. ** He resolved not
only to insert in his speech the sentiment which
had been proposed to him, but to go farther, and
to declare, that if France would give explicit as-
surances of receiving a minister from this country
with due respect, he would send one."

In vain did Pmckney and M'Henry oppose this
resolution. Mr. Adams obstinately persisted, and
the declaration was introduced.

Mr. Adams appears afterwards to have pomi-
nated Mr. Murray as envoy to the French Repub-
lic, without previous communication with any of
his ministers. Shortly after he nominated two
more, Judge Elsworth and Mr. Davie.

Mr. Elsworth's talents were no doubt great,
buthis opinions respecting law were formed upon
the Mansfield system. His decision in the case of
Captain AVilliams, was directly opposed to the law
of nations, and to the former practice of the Ai:7\eri-
can courts. His knowledge of European affairs
was also very limited in theory as well as practice.

George Davie was better calculated for the
mission. This gentleinan was about 40 years of
age ; possessed of engaging manners and an easy
address ; he had been educated at Princeton Col-
lege ; served with reputation in the revolutionary
war^ afterwards studied the profession of the law,

Ss

S22 THE ADMIKISTRATION

and previous to his appointment, was made a
General in the Provisional Army, and elected
Governor of North-Carolina.

When the news of the revolution in the Direc-
tory arrived, Mr. Hamilton says, that Mr. Adams
w as then at his seat in Massachusetts, and that his
ministers addressed to him a joint letter, commu-
nicating the intelligence, ?nd submitting to his con-
sideration, whether that event ought not to suspend
the projected mission. Mr. Adams, in reply,
directed the preparation of a draft of instructions
for the envoys, and intimated that their departure
should be suspended for some time.

Mr. Adams arrived soon after at Trenton, about
the 17th of October, vs^here he held a council with
his ministers. Judge Elsworth and General Ham-
ilton were also present, though not at the desire of
Mr. Adam?. Mr. Hamilton says ui his letter, that
he arrived at Trenton a short time before the Presi-
dent^ and Chief Justice Elsworth a short time after
him', that the object of his own journey was to
concert with the Secretary of War, certain arrange-
ments for the future disposition of the western
army, and that the cause of Judge Elsworth's ar-
rival, was to meet his colleague. Governor Davie,
at the seat of government. " Yet these simple and
accidental occurrences/' says Mr. Hamilton, "were
to the jealous mind of Mr. Adams, confirmations
strong of some mischievous plot against his inde-
pendence."

OF JOHN ADAMS. 323

Mr. xA.dams is said, at tliis memorable meeting,
to have observed a profound silence on the question,
whether or not it was expedient that the mission
should proceed. His secretaries, Pickering and
M'Henry, as also General Hamilton, disapproved
of the propriety of the embassy, and endeavored to
bring the President over to their opinion, but their
arts were of no avail. The mornincj after the in-
structions were settled, he signified to Mr. Picker-
ing, that the envoys were ready to depart.

This resolution of the President was, by the
Hamiltonian party, regarded as bad policy, and
incom.patible with the dignity of Americans. By
the anti-federalists, it was, on the contrary, esteem-
ed a promising sentiment of repentance. ...but if
we examine carefully the character and motives of
Mr. Adams, it will appear that he was induced to
this conciliatory measure, neither from a disrespect
to his country, nor from the commendable desire
of promoting republicanism; but most probably
with the base design of rendering odious the
measures of his secretaries, the power of whom his
jealousy began to dread.

The vain and weak judgment of Mr. Adams
easily figured, that if Pinckney, Hamilton and
Pickering were removed from the road to power,
he might, by courting popular applause, rise on the
shoulders of the people to an imperial throne, from
whence he and his posterity might dictate to the
inhabitants of half the g-obe.

No man's vanity can reasonably be supposed to
exceed that of Mr. Adams. Weakness in intellect,

S24 THJE ADMINISTRATION

which is generally the attendant of pride, is the
predominant mark in his character. Thesecauses
render his temper unsufferable to his most inti-
mate friends. On many occasions, Mr. Hamil-
ton says, " he is liable to paroxisms of anger,
which deprive him of self-command, and pro-
duce very outrageous behavior to those who ap-
proach him. But the eternal rancor which Mr.
Adams always evinced against the great and
good Franklin, is the most convincing proof, both
of his vanity and the weakness of his understand-
ing ; several well attested anecdotes confirm the
truth of this assertion.

During the embassy of Franklin, Adams and
Lee at Paris, a fete was given in honor of America,
by a Mrs. Bertand, the Lady of a Nobleman, who
acted in capacity of Lord in waiting to the King.
Mrs. Bertand was one of those celebrated female po-
liticians, who used to be in the employ of the Court,
for the purpose of discovering, by her intrigues, the
secret springs and intentions of foreign cabinets....
she was also a lady of science, and the princip al
patroness of the arts in Paris. Her veneration for
Franklin was equal to her contempt for Mr.
Adams ; but Adams and Lee, with almost every
American of education then at Paris, were of course
invited to partake of the pleasures of an entertain-
ment, intended as a compliment to their country.
During the performance of a theatrical piece, the
portrait of Franklin was introduced on the stage....
an universal burst of applause ensued, which wound-

OF JOHN ADAM5. 325

ed the feelings of Adams to such a degree, that he
feigned sickness and left the performance.*

Mr. Adams soon after, in a letter to a friend In
this country, complained, " we are all here mere
satellites, revolving in the orbit of the planet Frank-
lin, borrowing all our lights from him, and unable
to diffuse any of our own through his superior in-
fluence."

During his administration Mr. Adams gave
countenance to every calumny which reflected upon
the memory of that great philosopher; he enjoyed
with secret triumph, the vulgar and slanderous abuse
which was darted by the miscreant Porcupine, at
Franklin's discoveries. He was even fond and
sedulous, when occasion offered, to cast a shade
over his moral and political reputation ; but the
most daring and villainous scheme in which it is
reported Mr. Adams assisted to blacken the cha-
racter of that illustrious man, and wound the feel-
ings of his relations, was an attempt to accuse him
of public peculation.

In the early part of the American Revolution,
a million of livres was lent us by the French go-
vernment. After Franklin's death, the enemies of
liberty spread abroad insinuations, that Dr. Frank-
lin had appropriated this money to himself; they
contrived also to possess themselves of all the pub-
lic papers by which his defendants could vindicate
his reputation. This was done in the most artful

♦ Dr. James Smith, now in New- York, was present, and
seated near Mr. Adams at the aborc fete.

326 THE admInutration

manner. The sum o( jCA5,000 sterling, was
given to Mr. Charles Dilly, a book-seller in Lon-
don, (who had contracted to publish a history of his
life) to purchase all the documents which he had re-
ceived from the family of Dr. Franklin. The only
remaining channel of truth were the papers in pos-
session of administration. These were applied for,
but refused in the most contemptuous manner,
" Mr. Adams was not to be disturbed, or the offi-
ces of the Treasury ransacked, to please the whims
of a few individuals," was the answer reported to
be given. AVhen, however, the recent change in
the executive took place, and the records of State
were brought fc;rth from the cells of Federal fraud,
to blush at public inspection, the facts appeared to
be, viz. that the American government was charged
with the sum in question, and it had been allowed
in the general liquidation of the French debt, though
it had been objected to, under General Washington.
AVhen Gouverneur Morris was at Paris, as our min-
ister, he took advantage of the passions of the re-
volutionary period, and addressed a letter to the
committee of Public Safety, wherein he observed,
*^ that it was time indeed to throw off that secrecy
which involved in obscurity the transactions of ca-
binets, and the counsels of despots. The American
and French republics could have no secrets, their
acts were to be regulated by principles, not actua-
ted by sordid or personal interests." He, therefore,
solicited an enquiry into the mode by which the
million in question had been bestowed, and to

OF JOHN ADAMS. 327

whom. The political fanatacism of the day, was
caught by the Jesuitical address of the wooden
legged envoy, and an account was rendered as ir
appeared on the public record of the royal depart-
ment of foreign affairs.

The friends of Mr. Adams had insinuated the
money was given to Dr. Franklin : Gouverneur
Morris was, therefore, instructed to carry the enqui-
ry up to the source. After examination, he discov-
ered that the sum had been appropriated and lent
to America before Dr. Franklin left this country.
The suspicion was, therefore, transferred to Silas
Deane; and it was concluded, that Deane could
not have the money without Dr. Franklin parta-
king of the spoil or conniving at the robbery. Up-
on farther investigation, it was found that the money
was given even before Deane arrived in France.
This was a dilemma which had not been foreseen ;
but having proceeded so far, it was necessary to
go the whole length ; and upon application by
Mr. Morris, an official copy of the receipt was
given, which is now on the records of government,
which shows that the money was procured from the
Count of Vergennes, by Caron Beaumarchais ; and
a M, Chevalier, who acted as agent for this banker,
and lives in the city of Richmond, has been de-
bited in his account with the United States for that
million.* *

* This circumstance I have from a near relative of Dr. Frank-
lin, upon whose veracity I can place the greatest reliance.

328 THE ADMINISTRATION

All these Facts jmust have been known to the
late administration ; but John Adams felt neither
the generosity nor the justice due to the memory of
Franklin, or the honor of his country, to reveal th«
truth.

That Mr. Adams had a disposition both .cruel
and ungenerous, is evident from a letter he wrote
when in Holland to the governor of Massachusetts.
This letter, which was intercepted by the English
and published in the AnnuarRegister for 17-81, con-
tains the following paragraph : ^^ It is true, I be-
lieve, what you suggest, that Lord North shewed
a disposition to give up the contest, but was divert-
ed from it, not unlikely, by the representation of the
Americans in London, who, in conjunction with
thelrcoadjutorsin.America, have been thorns to us
indeed on both sides of the water ; but I think their
csiretY might have been stopt on your side if the ex-
ecutive officers had not been too timid in a point
■which I so strenuously recommended at first, namely^
'tofine^ imprison and hang all mimical to the cause,
xvithout favor or affection, I foresaw if ^^ evil that
would arise from that quarter^ and wished to have
iimely stopt it. I would have hanged my own bro*
ther if he had took a part tvith our enemy in this con-
-test:'

In the course of this history, the secret con-
nexion which existed between Mr. Adams and the
British minister, Mr. Liston, has been repeatedly
mentioned. The truth of that connexion, and the
influence of Great Britain upon the executive of

OF JOHN ADAMS. 329

America, cannot be better substantiated than by an
intercepted correspondence between Mr. Liston
a^d President Russel, at Teranto, in UpperCanada.
The manner in which the letters of this correspon-
dence were detected, is truly singular; they were
seized in the custody of a notorious horse-stealer of
the name of Sweezy, in Bucks County, in the State
of Pennsylvania. Sweezy had been one of a gang
connected with Dones and Sinclair, two robbers,
who were hanged, the one in Pennsylvania, and the
other in New-Jersey. Sweezy himself was out-
lawed, and fled into Canada, by the government of
which he was esteemed a proper person to be en-
trusted with the dispatches of British intrigue. He
performed dutifully the object of his mission ; but
.on his return his person being recognized, he was
pursued under the former outlawry. In the hurry
of escape, he left behind a small parcel, in which
several documents of the greatest importance to
the interest of this country were found. They
were immediately forwarded to the President of
the United States ; but the two folio win of letters
were the only ones made public. They are, how-
ver, sufficient proof of the secret schemes then car-
rying on between the government of the United
States and that of Great Britain :

''Philadelphia, eth May, 1799.
« Sir,
'' The government of the United States appears
to be nearly in the same situation wdth regard to
theShaweneese Indians, as that of Canada is with

Tt

330 TH£ ADMINISTRATION

respect to the Mohawks. The Shaweneese wish
the United States to make some alteration of their
limits, as fixed by the treaty of Grenville ; and at
the same time to confirm the sales of lands they
have already made, and authorize future altera-
tions. Tlie American ministers, on the other hand,'
are determined not to grant this favor, and are em-
barrassed by the persevering importunity of the
Indians. Advices lately arrived from Fort Wayne,
inform the administration, that the Shaweneese in-
tend this spring to call a general council of the na-
tion, (composed of representatives from several
tribes) with a view to take such measures as may
be thought best calculated to obtain some modifica-
tions of the Grenville treaty. ...and the information
adds, that this idea was first suggested by the late
Colonel M'Kee, deputy-superintendant of Indian
afl^airs.

^* The government consider this interference as
-unfriendly, and injurious to their interests ; and a
complaint has been made to me on the subject, by
the Secretary of State, with a request, that I would
make such representation of the matter to you, as
might produce a defeat of the project at present,
and prevent allintervention of a similar nature in
future.

'' I informed the Secretary of State, that I could
scarcely bring myself to credit the report respecting
Colonel M'Kee ; that at all events I could not con-
ceive that any thing unfevorable to the United
States could have been contemplated by a public

OF JOHN ADAMSS. 331

oiBcer in the service of Great Britain 3 but that I
would of course make the representation requested ;
that I made no doubt of its having the desired ef-
fect, because I was confident that you were sin-
cerely disposed to ward ofFevery incident that could
"give just cause of misunderstanding between the
two nations.

"The situation of public affairs in this country
continues the same as at the date of my last letter,
unless it be that the government has given a new
subject 0^ provocation to France, by encouraging
(in conjunction with us) the negro chief Toussaintj,
in measures which appear ultimately to tend to a
separation of the island of St. Domingo from the
mother country. Whether this affront will be pock-
eted by the Directory y I do not pretend to decide y
but I cannot persuade myself that it is probable.
" I have the honor to be,

" with great truth and respect,
" Sir, your most obedient,
*' humble servant,

- ROBERT LIS TON.

'* The Honorable \
" President Russel." j

" Philadelphia, 2Zd May, 1799.
" Sir,
" My last letter being entrusted to a person who
v/as not going directly to Upper Canada, I am un-
certain whether it may yet have reached yourhands,
and therefore take an opportunity of transmitting
a duplicate.

532 THE ADMINISTRATION

^^ On public affairs I have scarcely ^ny thing to
2idd.. ..one step further on the road to a J or mat xjo air
heiween France and the United States^ has been ta-
ken by the Governor ofGaudaloupe, who, in conse-
quence of the capture of the I nsurgente frigate, has
authorized French ships of war to capture all Amer-
ican vessels, whether belonging to the government
or to individuals. ...But the resolution of the Direc-
tory in the great question of peace or war is not yet
known ; perhaps the new explosion on the conti-
nent of Europe, may give them a degree of em-
ployment that may retard their decision.

'^ In the interior of this country, the declama-
tions of the democratic faction, on the constitution-
ality and nulhty of certain acts of the Legislature,
have misled a number of poor ignorant wretches
into a resistance to the laws and a formal insurrec-
tion. This frivolous rebellion has been quelled by a
spirited effort of certain volunteer corps lately embo-
died, zvho deserve every degree of praise..,hxit the
conduct of these gentlemen having been shameful-
ly calumniated by some of the popular newspapers,
they have ventured to take the law into their own
hands and to punish one or two of the printers (by
a smart flogging) ; a circumstance ivhich has given
rise to viuch animosity, to threats, and to a com-
mencement of armed associations on the side of the
democrats, (particularly the United Irishmen) and
some apprehend that the affair may lead to a partial
civil war. The portion, however, of the Jacobinic
party who could carry matters to this extremity, is

OF JOHN ADAMS. 333

but small : the government is on its guard, and is
determined to act with vigor: and I do not ap-
prehend any serious danger.

" I have? the honor to be,

" with great truth and respect,
" Sir, your most obedient,
" humble servant,

" ROBERT LISTON."
There w^as a third letter from Mr. Liston, but
6ur executive would not permit a copy of it to go
into the hands of the public : it stated too circum-
stantially the nature of its policy. Among other
promises from America to Great Britain, it was
mentioned that if Canada were attacked by a fo-
reign power, the government of the United States
stood pledged to supply a military force adequate to
the exii^ency, to defend that colony, and to preserve
It to the British government. Any comment upon
these letters is unnecessary ; they shew in the ful-
lest manner the practices of Liston, the intention
of his country, and the corruptible heart of Mr.
Adams, who, if he had any regard for the honor of
Americans, would have immediately ordered the
removal of that most execrable ambassador.^

* Robert Liston, now Sir Robert Liston, is well Iknown ^6
be a native of Scotland. He received his education at the Uni-
versity of Edinburgh, and was principally under the care of Vy6-
fessor George Stuart, father to the celebrated Gilbert Stuart.
To the interest, advice and recommendatioa of George Stuart,
Liston was indebted to his first success in Hfe ; but he repaid tl^e
friendship of his patron and benefactor, by tlie basest ingratitude.

334 THE ADMINISTRATION

As General Hamilton acted a conspicuous part
during the late administration, in promoting the
views of the federal interest, in combating the ene*
mies of the British treaty, and opposing what was
unjustly termed jacobin influence, it is proper
that some account of the life of that able officer and
intelligent lawyer, should appear in this volume.

Alexander Hamilton was born about the year
1753, in the island of St. Croix. His father was a
merchant of some eminence, and he himself was
educated to the same profession. He acted for
several vears as clerk to a counting-house in that
island, and acquired by an active diligence, the fa-
vor and esteem of all with whom he had connec*
tion. At the age of eighteen he was sent in tha
same capacity to New- York, in which sphere of life
he continued until the commencement of the revo-
lutionary war.

This was the theatre for which nature had des-
tined young Hamilton ; he entered into the Ameri-
can army, and soon distinguished himself by un-
common enterprise and valor. His reputation
procured him the appointment of an aid-de-camp
to General Washington. In the year 1780, he was

Dr. Gilbert Stuart, like many other men of talents, was imprudent
and rather embarrassed in his circumstances ; he apphed to Lis-
ton, as his college companion and friend in youth, for assistance....
and suffered not only the refusal of a few guineas, which was
the humble request, but was deprived, through Liston's interfer-
ence, who represented him as a party writer, of employment
from an oppulent Book-seller in London. This anecdote I had
jpersonally from Professor Stuart, soon after his son's death.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 335

promoted to the rank of Colonel, and at the sie^e
of York-town commanded the attack on one of the
redoubts, the capture of which decided the fate of
Lord Cornwallis and his army. The conduct of
Mr. Hamilton on this occasion was truly honor-
able, and in the history of his life, ought to weigh
against several of those scars that have since stain-
ed his character. Previous to the assault, the
Marquis de La Fayette proposed to General Wash-
ington, to put to death all the British troops that
should be found in the redoubts, as a retaliation
for several acts of barbarity committed by the roy-
al arm^. The steady and nervous mind of Wash-
ington, which was never known to yield to the vir-
tuous prejudice of compassion, gave his assent
to the bloody order. But Mr. Hamilton, (the ten-
derness of whose feelings has led him into error)
after the redoubts were subdued, took the conquer-
ed under his protection, and proved to his enemies
that Americans knew how to fight but not to mur-
der.

When the v\ir was at an end, and the army
disbanded, Mr. Hamilton betook himself to the stu-
dy of the law. For this purpose he retired to Al-
bany, where he secluded himself for several months
at the end of which he appeared at the bar of New-
York, where in a short time he acquired the repu-
tation of an able advocate in point of legal know-
ledge and rhetorical talents. At this period the
political sentiments of Mr. Hamilton were ob-
served to change. From being a zealous republi-

336 "I HE ADMINISTRATION

can and the defendant of the rights of America, Jie
gradually imbibed the tenets of aristocracy, until at
length he became the admirer and advocate of
every measure allied with monarchy.

This change in Mr. Hamilton's principles,
which at first proceeded from conviction, and has
since been strengthened by views of interest, is easy
to be accounted for.

Mr. Hamilton, unfortunately, was a natiye of
that part of the civilized world where tyranny and
slavery prevail in a manner even unknown to the
despots of Europe ; it w^as utterly impossible, thayfc
the habits and prejudices he contracted in infancy,
could ever have been eradicated. The desire of
ambition and power, which poisoned the first drop
of blood that flowed in his veins, could only have
been suppressed by a more powerful passion : this
was the passion of war. Mr. Hamilton panted
after fame and glory, and joined the republican
standard as the most promising field for a display of
those powers he possessed. He fought for liberty
with the same zeal as a Briton would engage in the
support of the Grand Turk or Dey of Algiers. To
acquire the applause of his commander and the
respect of his fellow soldiers, was his pride and am-
bition. In this he was successful : and while liber-
ty was the object of his struggle, he was a republi-
can....but when America procured her independ-
ence and the horrors of a civil war were at an end,
Mr. Hamilton had no longer a scope for his ambi-
tion in the theatre of arms. In his studv of law he

OF JOHN ADAMS. 337

perceived another path to power; his copious ima-
gination took a rapid survey of the civil code, the
facinating structure upon which the feudal system
is raised, and the combined policy of English juris-
prudence. In these fabrics of human knowledge,
the production of ages, Mr. Hamilton perceived
something more lofty and splendid, than those sim-
ple forms which modern repubhcanism cultivates.
The grandeur attendant on hereditary titles pleased
his mind and flattered his vanity. The American
tory against whom he had fought, he now began to
defend, his cause he espoused, and in every suit
where a loyalist was concerned, Mr. Hamilton
was the royal pleader. It is a certain fact that a great
majority of the loyalists in the State of New- York
owe the restoration of their property solely to the
exertions of this able orator.

Before the federal government was established,
in the year 1788, Mr. Hamilton proposed a new
constitution, to be composed of the following arti-
cles :

" 1. The supreme legislative power of the Uni-
ted States of America, to be vested in two differ-
ent bodies of men ; the one to be called the Assem-
bly, the other the Senate, who together shall form
the Legislature of the United States, with power
to pass all laws whatsoever ; subject to the nega-
tive hereafter mentioned. 2. The Assembly to
consist of persons elected by the people, to serve
for three years, 3. The Senate to consist of per-
sons elected to serve during good behavior : their

U u

35^ THE ADMINISTRATION

election to be made by electors chosen for thit
purpose by the people.... in order to this, the States
to be divided into election districts. On the
death, removal or resignation of any Senator, his
place to be filled out of the district from which
he came. 4. The supreme Executive authority
of the United States to be vested in a governor,
to be elected during good behavior y the elec-
tion to be made by electors chosen by the people,
in the election districts aforesaid ; th@ authorities
and functions to be as follows : To have a nega-
tive upon all laws about to be passed, and the
execution of ail laws passed ; to have the direc-
tion of war, when authorized or begun -, to have,,
with the advice and consent of the Senate,. the pow-
er of making all treaties ; to have the sole ap-
pointment of the heads or chief oiSicers of finance
and foreign affairs ; to have the nomination of all
other officers, ambassadors to foreign nations in-
cluded, subject to the approbation or rejection of
the Senate ^ to have power of pardoning all offen-
ces except treason, which he shall not pardon with-
out the approbation of the Senate. 5. On the
death, resignation or removal of the governor, his
authorities to be exercised by the President of the
Senate, till a successor be appointed. 6. The Sen-
ate to have the sole power of declaring war, the
power of advising and approving all treaties, the
power of approving and rejecting all appointments
of officers, except the heads or chiefs of the depart-
ment of finance, war and foreign affairs. 7. The
Supreme judicial authority of the United States, tg

07 JOHN ADAMS. 539

be vested in Judges, to hold their offices diirin^'-
good behavior, with adequate and permanent sa-
laries; the court to have original jurisdiction in all
cases ofcapture, andan appellate jurisdiction in all
causes on which the revenues of the general govern-
ment or the citizens of foreign nations are concern-
ed. 8. The legislature of the United States to
have power to institute courts in each State, for the
determination of all matters of general concern.
9. The Governors, Senators, and all officers of the
United States, to be liable to impeachment for mal
and corrupt conduct ; and, upon convict'on, to be
removed from office, and disqualified for holding any
place of trust and profit -, and all impeachments to
be tried by a court, to consist of the chief
or judge of the superior court of law of eacli State,
provided such judge hold his place during good be-
havior and have a permanent salary. 10. AH laws
of the particular States, contrary to the constitution
or laws of the United States, to be utterly void ;
and the better to prevent such laws being passed,
the Governor or President of each State shall be ap-
pointed by the general government, and shall have
a negative upon the laws about to be passed in the
State of which he is Governor or President. 1 1 . No
State to have any force, land or naval, and the
militia to be under the sole and exclusive direction
of the United States, the officers of which to be ap-
pointed and commissioned by them."

Such a constitution as this, sketched out by Mr.
Hamilton, would have been a direct extirpation

342 THE ADMINISTRATION-

doUarvS by speculation, and had supplied him with
money to speculate.

Clingham reported, that after Reynolds was
discharged, which was about eight or nine o^clock
in the evening, he (Reynolds) sent a letter about
twelve o'clock at night to Colonel Hamilton by a
girl, whom Reynolds followed to the door. When
the girl returned, he informed Clingham that he
need not go out of town that night, but would call
upon Colonel Hamilton next morning.

These are the general particulars respecting this
intricate correspondence, contained in the reports
of Messrs. Muhlenberg, Monroe and Venable,
which were made public by Mr. Callender in the
year 1796.

Mr. Hamilton immediately came forward with
his defence, or rather a confession of a crime, even
of a more heinous complexion than a pecuniary spe-
culation. He avowed himself to the world to have
been the seducer of an amiable, though unfortunate
woman.

No words can paint the baseness of this action
more forcibly than the language of Mr. Hamilton.
" The charge against me is a connection with one
James Reynolds, for purposes of improper pecunia-
ry speculation... .my real crime is an amorous con-
nection with his wife, for a considerable time, with
his privity and connivance.

*^ This confession is not made without a blush....
I cannot be the apologist of any vice, because the
ardor of passion may have made it mine. ...I can

OF JOHN ADAMS. 343

never cease to condemn myself for the pang which
it may inflict in a bosom eminently entitled to all
my gratitude, fidelity and love. ...but that bosom v^ill
approve^ that even at so great an expence, I v^rould
effectually wipe away a more serious stain from a
name which it cherishes with no less elevation than
tenderness. The public too, will, I trust, excuse
the confession ; the necessity of it to my defence,
against a more heinous charge, could alone have
extorted from me so painful an indecorum."

Mr. Hamilton, by his own account, became ac-
quainted with Mrs. Reynolds in the following man-
ner: some time in the summer of 1791, a woman
called at his house in the city of Philadelphia, and
asked to speak with him in private, he of course at-
tended her into a room apart from the family, with
a seeming air of affliction, she informed him that she
was a daughter of a Mr. Lewis, sister to a Mr. G,
Livingston of the state of New-York, and wife to
Mr. Reynolds, whose father w^as in the commissa-
Tj department during the war with Great Britain ;
that her husband, who for a long time had treated
her very cruelly, had lately left her to live with
another woman 3 and in so destitute a condition,
that though desirous of returning to her friends she
had not the means.... that knowing Colonel Ham-
ilton was a citizen of New-York, and a generous
man, she had taken the liberty to apply to his hu-
manity for assistance.

Mr. Hamilton says that he was disposed upon
hearing her story to afford her assistance, but it not

344 THE ADMINISTRATION

being convenient for him at the moment, he re-
quested the place of her residence. She very rea-
dily relieved his anxiety, and gave him the street
and the number of the house where she lodg-
ed. Towards evening he put a bank bill in his
pocket, and making some apology to Mrs. Ham-
ilton, went off to administer comfort to the distressed
female. He enquired for Mrs. Reynolds, and was
shewn up stairs, at the head of which the lady met
him, and conducted him into her bed room. He
took the bill out of his pocket and slipped it into her
hand ; some tender conversation then ensued, from
which it was quickly apparent, (says Mr. Hamilton)
" that other than pecuniary consolation would be
acceptable."

Such was the nature, according to Mr. Hamil-
ton, of his connection with Reynolds and his wife.
He rambled for eighteen months in this scene of
pollution, and squandered, by all accounts, above
twelve hundred dollars, to conceal the intrigue
from his loving spouse. Those who experience the
same tender feelings with Mr. Hamilton, may give
credit to his tale of shame; but the cold hearted en-
quirer will more probably assign his profligacy to a
different cause ; at any rate he will allow that a
person of such amorous habits, was by no means
qualified to fill the office of Secretary to the Trea-
sury.

The next important incident in "the history of
Mr. Hamilton, is his defence of the British treaty.
He appointed a day to meet its opponents, and con-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 345

vince them by argument of the benefits arising
to the United States from the articles it contained.

No place is more unfit for a display of logical
reason than the assembly of a tumultuous mob....
The rhetoric of Mr. Hamilton was soon overpower-
ed by hisses and shouts of reproach. When he
was thus prevented from advocating its cause by
the force of oratory, he had recourse to the elo-
quence of the pen, and published a series of letter$
under the signature of Camillus, in defence of the
British treaty.

These letters, though the sentiments they con-
tain are inimical to the interest of this country,
ought, notwithstanding, to be held in the highest
veneration, by every lover of literature. The cor-
rect style of language which they exhibit will be
long a model of perfection to Americans j and with-
out laying claim to the gift of prophecy, I may safe-
ly assert, that the pages of Camillus w^ill be read
when the British treaty and the name of Governor
Jay win be otherwise buried in oblivion.

Mr. Hamilton has been severely censured, and
perhaps with justice, as being the author of the
funding system, the promoter of the snuff excise
law, that passed the 5th of June 179i, and the
cause of the war of 1790 with the North-western
Indians.

Mr. Hamilton was, in 1798, appointed inspec-
tor-general and commander in chief next to AV^ash-
ington, of the army of the United States. This
promotion the merits of Mr. Hamilton certainlv

Xx

^46 THE ADMimSTPATIOf;

deserved. His abilities in this respect dare not be
doubted. ...and if ever it should be the misfortune
of America to be involved in a war, while Mr.
Hamilton lives, it would be both imprudent and
unjust, were he deprived of a principal command.

The literary fame of General Washington is
said to have been raised on the talents of Alexan-
der Hamilton ; and report even whispers, that
Hamilton himself claims the merit of AVashington's
letters, and that he has boasted of receiving letters
from General Washington, with the word private
wrote on the back of them, and a cross drawn over
the seal. After opening such a parcel, the contents
were, " Dear Hamilton^ put this into style for mCy*
prefixed to some speech or letter inclosed. The let-
ters of Washington are, however, much inferior to
those of Hamilton, and differ remarkably in point
of style. Most probably they no more received
the nice correction of Hamilton, than the lectures
of Sir Joshua Reynolds did the finishing strokes
of Edmund Burke.

Such are the general outlines of the life and
character of Alexander Hamilton. As a soldier and
scholar, he has rendered most eminent services to
the United States, but as a political character, he
has been the greatest misfortune.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 547

CHAPTER XIII.

Meeting of the sixth Congress.,., President's Speech
..,, Death of General Washington. ...Proceedi?igs
of Congress. ...John Randolph insulted at the Thea-
tre of Philadelphia,.., Acts passed by Congress.

On Monday the 2d of December, both houses
of the sixth Congress met in their first session.

Mr. Sedgwick was chosen Speaker, and on the
3d of December the President delivered the foliow-r
ing speech :

*' Gentlemen of the Senate, and

" Gentlemen of the House of Representatives ,

" It is with pecuhar satisfaction, that I meet
the sixth Congress of the United States of Ameri-
ca. Coming from all parts of the union at this cri-
tical and interesting period, the members must be
fully possessed of the sentiments and wishes of our
constituents.

" The flattering prospects of abundance from
the labors of the people by land and by sea ; the
prosperity of our extended commerce, notwith-
standing interruptions occasioned by the bellige-
rent state of a great part of the world ; the return
of health, industry and trade to those cities which
have been lately afflicted with disease, and the va-
rious and inestimable advantages, civil and religious,
which, secured under our happy frame of govern-
ment, are continued to us unimpaired, demand of
the whole American people sincere thanks to a

348 THE ADMINISTRATION

benevolentDeityforthe merciful dispensations of his
Providence. But while these numerous blessings arc
recolkcted, it is a painful duty to advert to th'C un-
grateful return which has been made for them, by
some of the people in certain counties of Pennsyl-
vania, who were seduced by the arts and misrepre-
sentations of designing men : they have openly re-
sisted the law directing the valuation of house* and
lands.. ..such defiance was given to the civil authori-
ty as rendered hopeless all further attempts by judi-
cial process, to enforce the execution of the law, and
it became necessary to direct a military force to be
employed consisting of some companies of regular
troops, volunteers and militia, by whose zeal and
activity, in co-operation with the judicial power,
order and submission were restored, and many of
the offenders arrested. Of these, some have been
convicted of misdemeanors, and others charged
with various crimes, remain to be tried.

^' To give due effect to the civil administra-
tion of government, and to insure a just execution
of the laws, a revision and amendment of the judi-
ciary system is indispensably necessary. In this
extensive country, it cannot but happen that nume-
rous questions respecting the interpretation of the
laws, and the rights and duties of officers and citi-
zens must arise. ...on the one hand the laws should
be executed , on the other individuals should be
guarded from oppression. Neither of these objects
is sufficiently assured under the present organiza-
tion of the judicial department : I therefore ear-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 349

netsly recommend the subject to your serious con-
sideration.

** Persevering in the pacific and humane policy
which had been invariably professed, and sincerely
pursued by the executive authority of the United
States, when indications were made on the part of
the French Republic, of a disposition to accom-
modate the existing differences between the two
countries, I felt it to be my duty, to prepare for
meeting their advances by a nomination of minis-
ters upon certain conditions which the honor of our
country dictated, and which its moderation had
given it a right to prescribe. The assurances which
were required of the French government previous
to the departure of our envoys, have been given
through their minister of foreign relations; and I
have directed them to proceed on their mission to
Paris. e.. they have full power to conclude a treaty,
subject to the constitutional advice and consent of
the Senate. The characters of these gentlemen are
sure pledges to their country, that nothing incom-
patible with its honor or interest, nothing incon-
sistent with our obligations of good faith or friend-
ship to any other nation, will be stipulated.

" It appearing probable, from the information
I received, that our commercial intercourse with
some ports in the island of St. Domingo, might safe-
ly be renewed, I took such steps as seemed to me
expedient to ascertain that point : the result being
sastisfactory, I then, in conformity to the act of Con-
gress aa the subject, directed the restraints and

350 THE ADMINISTRATION

prohibitions of that intercourse to be discontinued,
on terms which were made known by proclama-
tion. Since the renewal of this intercourse, our
citizens, trading in those ports with their property,
have been duly respected, and privateering from
those ports has ceased.

"In examining the claims of British subjects
by the commissioners at Philadelphia, under the
sixth article of the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and
Navigation with Great Britain, a difference of opin-
ion on points deemed essential in the interpretation
of that article, has arisen between the commission-
ers appointed by the United States and the other
members of that board, from which the former have
thought it their duty to withdraw. It is sincerely
to be regretted that the execution of an article pro-
duced by a mutual spirit of amity and justice,
should have been thus unavoidably interrupted....
it is, however, confidently expected, that the same
spirit of amity, and the same sense of justice in
which it originated, will lead to satisfactory expla-
nations. In consequence of the obstacles to the
progress of the commission in Philadelphia, his
Britannic Majesty has directed the commissioners
appointed by him, under the 7th article of the trea-
ty relating to British captures of American vessels,
to withdraw from the board sitting in London, but
with the express declaration of his determination
to fulfil with punctuality and good faith, the en-
gagements which his Majesty has contracted by
his treaty with the United States, and that they will

OF JOHN ADAMS. 351

be instructed to resume their transactions, whenever
the obstacles which impede the progress of the
commission at Philadelphia shall be removed.

" It beinor in like manner, mv sincere determin-
ation^ so far as the same depends on me, with that
equal punctuality and good faith, the engagement
contracted by the United States in their treaties with
his Britannic Majesty, shall be fulfilled, I shall im-
mediately instruct our Minister at London, to en-
deavor to obtain the explanations necessary, to a
just performance of those engagements on the part
of the United States. ...with such dispositions on
both sides I cannot entertain a doubt, that all diffi-
culties will soon be removed, and that the two
boards will then proceed and bring the business
committed to them respectively, to a satisfactory
conclusion.

" The act of congress relative to the seat of the
government of the United States, requiring that on
the first Monday of December next, it should be
transferred from Philadelphia to the district cho-
sen for its permanent seat; it is proper for me to
inform you, that the commissioners appointed to
provide suitable buildings for the accommodation
of Congress and the President, and for the public
ofhcers of the government, have made a report of
the state of the buildings designed for these pur-
poses in the city of Washington, from which they
conclude, that the removal of the seat of govern-
ment to that place at the time required will be
practicable, and the accommodation satisfactory....
Their report will be laid before you.

S52 THE ADMINISTRATION

'* Gentlemen vf the House of Representative Sy
" I shall direct the estimates of the appropria-
tions necessary for the service of the ensuing year,
together with an account of the revenue and ex-
penditure to be laid before you* During a period
in which a great portion of the civilized world has
been involved in war, unusually calamitous and
destructive, it was not to be expected that the Uni-
ted States could be exempted from extraordinary
burthens.

" Although the period is not arrived when the
measures adopted to secure our country against fo-
reign attack, can be renounced ; yet it is alike ne-
cessary to the honor of the government, and the
satisfaction of the community, that an exact ceco-
nomy should be maintained. I invite you, gentle*
men, to investigate the different branches of the
public expenditure. ...the examination will lead to
beneficial intrenchments, or produce a conviction
of the wisdom of the measure to which the expen-
diture relates.

" Gentlemen of the Senate y and,
" Gentlemen of the House of Representatives,
" At a period like the present, when momentous
changes are occurring, and every hour is preparing
n€w and great events in the political world., ..when
a spirit of war is prevalent in almost every nation
with whose affairs the interests oftbe United States
have any connection ; unsafe and precarious would
be oui" situation, were we to neglect the means of
maintaining our just rights. The result of the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 353

mission to France is uncertain ; but however it may
terminate, a steady perseverance in a system of na-
tional defence, commensurate with our resources
and the situation of our country, is an obvious dic-
tate of wisdom. For remotely as we are placed
from the belligerent nations, and desirous as we
are by doing justice to all to avoid offence to any,
nothing short of the power of repelling aggressions
will secure our country a rational prospect of escap-
ing the calamities of war or national degradation.
As to myself, it is my anxious desire so to execute
the trust reposed in me, as to render the people
of the United States prosperous and happy. I rely
with entire confidence on your co-operation in ob-
jects equally your care, and that our mutual labors
will serve to increase and confirm union among our
fellow-citizens, and an unshaken attachment to our
government."

On the motion of Mr. Bayard, the President's
speech was referred to a committee of the whole
house, on the state of the union. On Monday the
9th of December, both houses of Congress waited
separately upon the President with their respective
addresses.

On Wednesday the 11th of December, Mr.
Harper, by the direction of the committee of ways
and means, brought in a bill to amend the act, en-
titled, " An act to provide for the valuation of
lands and dwelling houses, and the enumeration of
slaves within the United States,'* which was grant-
ed.

Yy

35'i THE ADMINISTRATION

Monday, December 16, Mr. H. Lee moved,
that a committee be appointed to report whether
any, and if any, what alterations were necessary to
be made in the militia law of the United States.

In prefacing his motion. General Lee said " he
wished to call the attention of the house to a sub-
ject highly interesting to the citizens of the United
States, and deserving the serious attention of its
legislature. He thought the system heretofore
pursued was radically wTong, and view^ed every
measure which was not predicated on the wishes
of the people, as answering but little effect. He
wished to see that system of defence which, grow-
ing out of nature, should enable all men to serve
without injuring their families. ...the youth of our
country should alone be called upon, who would
be found sufficiently adequate for its defence. Se-
venteen and twenty-six, were the age of which the
defenders of our country should consist. When
father and son are arrayed in the same ranks, a wa-
vering must take place, and present an opportunity
for an impression from the enemy."

During the same sitting, a report was made by
the commissioners of the sinking fund, inclosing
a report to them from the secretary of the treasury,
and sundry official statements of the accounting of-
ficers of the treasury department, relative to the
measures which had been authorized by the com-
missioners, for purchasing the public debt subse-
quent to their report of the 15th December, 1798.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 355

By the secretary's report, it appeared that the
sum of lj03 I-,938-2 dollars had beea applied to-
wards the discharge of the principal debt of the
United States.

On Wednesday, the 1 8th of December, congress
received the afflicting intelligence of the death of
General Washington.

General Marshall came into the House of Re-
presentatives, after the journal was read, apparent-
ly much agitated, and addressed the Speaker in the
following words :

" Information, Sir, has just been received, that
our illustrious fellovv-citizen, the commander in
chief of the American army, and the late President
of the United States, is no more."

The House of Representatives, as well as the
Senate, in consequence of a national calamity so
heavy and distressing, immediately adjourned.

Some account of this great and virtuous soldier
may, perhaps, be here expected j but this is a task
of too important a nature to be discussed in the
trifling compass of a few pafres. The life of Wash-
ington is a subject which ought not to be polluted
by a transient sketch, or connected with the vices
of a corrupted administration. Whatever might be
the errors which the weakness of age induced
Washington to commit in the latter period of life,
his former actions ought to screen them from the
virulence of calumny, and protect his memory from
the reproach of party spirit. A certain republican
writer has induli;ed too freely in the abuse of this
great patriot. Perhaps even the compiler of this

356 THE ADMINISTRATION

volume may be censured for the same reason ; but
whenever any unwarranted expressions are drop-
ped, they ought to be regarded as the effect of a
survey of his politics abstracted from the man.
When wc separate the latter from the former, we
view only a monument of virtue and wisdom, but
when we blend them together, we are forced to
regret the tarnish and incrustation of prejudice,
which time had inflicted.

The House of Representatives, at their next
meeting, exhibited a pleasing, though mournful
evidence of the respect which was felt for the cha-
racter of General Washington. The Speaker's
chair and table, and the tables on each side, were
entirely shrouded in black ; the casement in the
rear of the Speaker's chair, and the recess, were also
elegantly ornamented with mourning ; the prints
presented to the house by Mr. Trumbull, the histo-
rical painter, were overhung with curtains of black.
Between these, and in the centre of the house, a
striking likeness of the illustrious Hero was added,
which acted as a feeling index of the weeping
emblems that surrounded it.

On January the 2d, a petition was presented
to the House of Representatives, by Mr. Wain,
from the free blacks of the city and county of Phi-
ladelphia, prating for a revision of the laws of the
United States, relative to the slave trade ^ of the
act relative to fugitives from justice, and for the
adoption of such measures as should in due time

OF JOHN ADAMS. $51

emancipate the whole of their brethren from their
disagreeable situation.

JMr. Rutledge opposed the petition with the
abusive insolence so natural to this southern legis-
lator. " The gentlemen who formerly (said Rut-
ledge) used to advocate liberty, have retreated from
their post and committed the important trust to the
care o{ black patriots ; they tell the house they are
in slavery ....t/ia?ik God theij are. They say they are
not represented.... certainly they are not ; and I trust
the day will never arrive ivhen the Congress of the
United States zvill display a party colored assembly.
Too much of this newfangled F?'ench philosophy of
liberty and equality has found its way among these
gentlemen of our plantations, for lohich nothing will
do but liberty,''

Harrison G. Otis brought forward his usual
eloquence on this occasion : he said that though
he possessed no slaves he saw no reason why
others might not, and that the proprietors of
them were the fittest persons, and not Congress, to
regulate that species of property.

Mr. Thatcher, to the surprise of many, differed
from his countryman ; and thought the petitions of
black men deserved equal consideration with those
of whites.

Mr. Brown, of Rhode-Island, argued that the
petition was not the production of the negroes, but
the contrivance of a combination of jacobins, who
had troubled Congress for many years past, and he
feared never would cease. lie begged, therefore.

S'5& THE ADMINISTRATION

that the gentleman who put the petition on the ta-
ble, might be desired to take it back again. He
was truly sorry to see such a dangerous paper sup-
ported by such a worthy member of the house and
good federalist as Mr. Thatcher.

Messrs. Gallatin, Smilie, Dana, Bird and Ed-
mond, supported the motion ; but when the yeas
and nays were agreed to be taken, Mr. Wain with-
drew his motion and substituted another ; which
went to say, that certain parts of the petition should
be reserved, so as to obviate the most particular
objection urged against a reference.

A resolution by Mr. Nicholas, for reducing the
army establishment, was taken into consideration
upon the 10th of January, but negatived, there be-
ing 39 in favor of it, and 59 against it.

The debates upon this resolution gave rise to
an affair which reflected considerable disgrace both
upon the President and the military of the United
States; viz. the unwarrantable assault upon Mr.
John Randolph, a Representative from the State
of Virginia.

Mr. Randolph had in the course of his speech
on that occasion, unfortunately used the term Rag-
^amuffinsy in speaking of the army. A phrase so
degrading was certainly improper, but Mr. Ran-
dolph had been warmed by debate, and the con-
duct of Truxton, the panegyrist of Sterret, was
fresh in his memory. At any rate Mr. Ran-
dolph was protected by an express clause of the
constitution, however insulting his censures on

OF JOHN ADAMS. 3j9

the conduct of the army or navy officers might ap-
pear.

On the evening of the 10th of January, Mr.
Randolph went to the theatre in Philadelphia.
During the representation, one Captain M*Knight
and a Lieutenant Reynolds, of the marines, took
frequent opportunities of peeping into the box
where Mr. Randolph was, and of whispering to
each other. At length they entered into it, and re-
peated several times in an elevated tone of voice,
the word raggamuffins ; with some other expres-
sions which could not be mistaken. Mr. Randolph
took not the smallest notice of their rudeness. Rey-
nolds, in order to provoke a quarrel, leaped upon
the seat where he was sitting ; and though the seat
was crouded, squeezed himself into it close to Ran-
dolph's side. The latter made as much room as
possible for the marine bravado, who perceiving
his attempts were in vain, rose and came away.
Captain M'Knight then came forward, and acted
over the same scene of disgusting rudene^ss ; an-
other officer of the name of Taylor, who also bore
the rank of captain, performed the part of prompt-
er, but had not the effrontery to take part in the
assault himself.

At the close of the performance, when Mr.
Randolph was coming down the stair-case, one of
the officers came behind and pulled him backwards
by the neck of his coat, while the other two severe-
ly justled him, but Mr. Randolph having quickly

360 THE ADMINISTRATION

extricated himself, all the three scampered ofF.... No
farther disturbance took place.

Next day Mr. Randolph addressed the follow-
ing letter to the President :
" Sir,

" Known to you only as holding, in common
with yourself, the honorable station of servant to
the same sovereign people^ and disclaiming all
pretensions to make to you any application which
in the general estimation of men, requires the pre-
face of apology, I shall, without the circumlocution
of compliment, proceed to state the cause which
induces this address.

^^For words of a general nature, uttered on the
floorof the house, and addressed in my official ca-
pacity, to the chairman of the committee of the
whole, and urged with a view to effect the reduction
of a military establishment, I have been grossly
and publicly insulted by two officers of the army,
(or navy, I know not which) with evident intention
to provoke me to a conduct which, in some sort,
might justify the hostile designs which they mani-
festly entertained towards me, and from the execu-
tion of which I believe they were only deterred by
the presence of several of my friends, (members of
thishouse) who felt themselves implicated in an in-
sult which, although more particularly offered to
one, was certainly levelled at all.

"I am acquainted with the name of one only of
these unfortunate young men, who appear to have
made so false an estimate of true dignity of charac-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 361

ter ; who seem to have mistaken brutality for spirit,
and an armed combination against an individual,
for an indication of courage.

^' He was called, I think, M'Knight... .rank un-
known, and, to my best recollection, of the navy.
Mr. Christie, a member of this house, appeared to
krK)w him ; and that gentleman, with captain
Campbell Smith, who, as I understood, endeavored
to deter those rash youths from their scheme, and
whose conduct would evince, if indeed there were
any need of proof, that the character of the man
and the citizen is not incompatible with the pro-
fession of the soldier, can give an account of the
various instances of misconduct which were exhi-
bited by the same parties. Mr. Van Rensselaer
the Lieutenant-Governor of New- York, Mr. Ni-
cholas, Mr. Glen, and Mr. Macon, of tlie House of
Representatives, were likewise present at the trans-
actions.

" Having stated the fact, it would be deroga-
tory to your character. Sir, for me to point out the
remedy, which it is your province to provide, nor
shall I descend from the respect which I owe my-
self to declare what are not the considerations
which govern my conduct on this occasion ; so far
as they relate to this application addressed to you
in a public capacity, they can only be supposed by
you to be of a public nature ; and it is enough for
me to state that the independence of the legislature
has been attacked, the majesty of the people, of
which you are the principal representative, insulted,

Zz

362 THE ADMINISTRATION

and your authority contemned. In their name I
demand that'a provision commensurate with the evil
be made, and which will be calculated to deter
others from any future attempt to introduce the
reign of terror into our country. In addressing you
in the plain language of man, I give you. Sir, the
best proof that I can afford, of the estimation in
which I hold your office, and your understanding ;
and I assure you with truth, that lam, with respect,
your fellow-citizen,

'^ JOHN RANDOLPH, Juk.
*' To the President of the ^
" United States." >

Mr. Adams, upon receiving the above, inclo-
sed it with the following message to the House of
Representatives :

*' Gentlemen of the House of Representatives y

" As the inclosed letter, from a member of your
house, received by me in the night of Saturday the
nth instant, relates to the privileges of the house,
which, in my opinion, ought to be enquired into in
the house itself, if any where, I have thought pro-
per to submit the whole letter, and its tendencies, to
your consideration, v^dthout any other comments
on its matter or style.

*' But as no gross impropriety of conduct, on
the part of persons holding commissions in the army
or navy of the United States, ought to pass without
due animadversion, I have directed the Secretary
of War, and the Secretary of the Navy, to investi-
gate the conduct complained of, and to report to

OF JOHN ADAMS. 363

me, without delay, such a statement of facts as
will enable me to decide on the course, which
duty and justice shall appear to prescribe.

"JOHN ADAMS.

" United States, \
" 14th Jan. 1800." )

Mr. Kittera moved, when the message was re-
ceived, that it, and the letter accompanying it, be
referred to a select committee.

Mr. Randolph hoped it would not. It was far
from his expectations, he said, when he addressed the
letter now before the house, to the President, that
it would have been made the subject of a commu-
nication. Had he thought the house could have re-
medied the abuse complained of, he would have
entered his complaint here ; but he did not conceive
it within their jurisdiction ; and he was opposed to
it as being a bad precedent, which might, at some
future period, be prostituted to purposes injurious
to the country. The povver of the commander in
chief of the army, in his opinion, was sufficient to
afford a remedy, and to restrain men under his com-
mand from giving personal abuse and insult; and
he, therefore, disclaimed any wish that the house
should take measures for his protection.

The voice of the house appeared to be unani-
mous for the commitment, and several members
expressed an opinion, that the President, in sub-
mitting the subject to the house, had acted judici-
ously, it being a question on which he could not, dare
not decide. ...it was a constitutional prerogative

364 The administration ^

vested in that house alone, and that house, after
having a statement of facts, were to be the sole
judges of them. The wish of the complainant to
suspend enquiry, ought not to have any weight, for
if a member was to be insulted for language made
use of in debate, there was an end to all legislation,
and they might as well return to their homes at once.

The question for commitment was put and car-
ried, and Mr. C. Goodrich, Mr. Macon, Mr. Kit-
tera, Mr. Sewall, Mr. Robert Williams, and Mr.
Bayard were appointed.

This committee, upon a review of the evidence
produced before them, found that sufficient cause
did not appear for the interposition of the house, on
the grounds of a breach of privilege.

Thus was a most unwarranted insult offered to
a representative, passed over with impunity. The
conduct of Mr. Adams on this occasion, was high-
ly censurable. In him properly w^as vested the
power of checking the arrogant insolence of mili-
tary puppies, who dare to assume, in a free country,
that authority which is only suffered in the domin-
ions of despotism.

No cause hastended more to reflect disgrace on
the profession of arms, than the modern practice of
investing with command a beardless boy, without
either education or experience, and whose only
pursuits in life have been passed in the bed-cham-
ber of an indulgent mother. This practice is
more prevalent in Britain than in any country of
Europe. One half of the officers who command the

CF JOHN ADAMS. 365

\

armies of George, are drawn at the age of twelve
and thirteen, from the mountains of Caledonia, ig-
norant of every art in life, but that of procuring the
food which their barren valHes afford, and of paying
an implicit obedience to a tyrant chieftain equally
destitute of understanding as the soil which gave
him birth.

Among many other absurd usages, this is one
which America has borrowed from her mother
country ; for of all the classes of citizens in the Uni-
ted States, the officers of the navy appear in
general to be most removed from the state of
science and literature....! make not this remark to
detract from their bravery. This qualification they
certainly possess in an equal degree with any nation
of the world ; but it ought to be remembered, that
courage, though an essential, constitutes but a
small part of the requisite education of a modern
soldier. In a republic, in particular, the study of
military and naval tactics ought to be cultivated
with the greatest zeal, and the morals of the young
soldier guarded with the strict eye of virtue and re-
ligion. No man is to be so much respected as the
soldier who understands his profession, defends the
rights of his country, and adores his creator ; while
no miscreant ought to be held in such contempt
as the livery bravado, who knows neither the re-
spect due to his country or to his God.

Both Houses of Congress rose upon the 4th of
May, after passing the following acts :

366 THE ADMINISTRATION

1. An act for reviving and continuing suits and
proceedings in the circuit court for the district of
Pennsylvania.

2. An act extending the privilege of franking
to AVilllam Henry Harrison, the delegate from the
Territory of the United States, North West of the
Ohio ; and making provision for his compensa-
tion.

3. An act supplementary to the act, intitled,
*' An act to provide for the valuation of lands and
dwelling houses, and the enumeration of slaves,
v/ithin the United States.''

4. An act for the relief of persons imprisoned
for debt.

5. An act for the preservation of peace with the
Indian tribes.

6. An act to repeal part of an act, intitled,
" An act to provide for mitigating or remitting the
forfeitures, penalties and disabilities, accruing in
certain cases therein mentioned, and to continue in
force the residue of the same."

7. An act for the relief of John Vaughan.

8. An act giving further time to the holders of
military w^arrants, to register and locate the same.

9. An act to suspend in part an act, intitled,
'^ An act to augment the army of the United States,

and for other purposes.'*

10. An act further to suspend the commercial
intercourse between the United States and France,
and the dependencies thereof.

11. An act for the relief of James Yard.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 567

12. An act providing for the second census, or
enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States.

13. An act in addition to the act, intitled, " An
act regulating the grants of land appropriated for
military services, and for the Society of the United
Brethren, for propagating the gospel among the
Heathen."

14. An act to provide for salvage in cases of
re-capture.

15. An act declaring the assent of Congress to
certain acts of the Statesof Maryland and Georgia.

16. An act to alter the timesof holding the dis-
trict court in North-Carolina.

17. An act for the relief of Campbell Smith.

18. An act to extend the privilege of franking
letters and packages to Martha Washington.

19. An act to establish an universal system of
bankruptcy throughout the United States.

20. An act to discharge Robert Sturgeon from
his imprisonment.

21. An act to allow a drawback of duties on
goods exported to New-Orleans, and thereby to
amend the act, intitled, " An act to regulate the
collection of duties on imports and tonnage."

22. An act to continue in force " An act con-
cerning certain fisheries of the United States, and
for the regulation and government of the fishermen
employed therein," and for other purposes as there-
in mentioned.

23. An act to alter the form of certain oaths
and affirmations, directed to be taken by the act.

S68 THE At)MINISTRAT10N

intltled, " An act providing for the second census,
or enumeration of the inhabitants of the United
States.

21. An act for the relief of the Corporation of
Rhode-Island College.

25. An act to extend the privilege of obtaining
patents for useful discoveries and inventions, to
certain persons therein mentioned, and to enlarge
and define the penalties for violating the rights of
patentee.

26. An act to fix the compensation of the Pay-
master-General, and assistants to the Adjutant-Ge-
neral.

27. An act to continue in force, the act, inti-
tled, "An act to authorise the defence of the mer-
chant vessels of the United States, against French
depredations."

28. An act to continue in force, for a limited
time, an act, intitled, "An act to prescribe the
mode of taking evidence in cases of contested elec-
tions for members of the House of Representatives
of the United States, and to compel the attendance
of witnesses.*'

29. An act fixing the rank and pay of the com-
manding officer of the corps of marines.

SO. An act supplementary to the act to regu-
late trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes,
and to preserve peace on the frontiers.

31. An act to establish a general stamp-office.

32. An act to alter and to establish sundry post
roads.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 36$

33. An act for the better government of the
navy of the United States.

34. An act respecting the mint.

35. An act to continue in force the act, in ad-
dition to the act for the punishment of certain
crimes against the United States.

36. An act to repeal the act laying duties on
mills and implements employed in the manufacture
of snuff.

37. An act to make further provision for the
removal and accommodation of the government of
the United States.

38. An act to authorise the President of the U-
nited States to accept for the United States, a ces-
sion of jurisdiction of the territory west of Penn-
sylvania, commonly called the western reserve of
Connecticut.

39. An act to provide for re-building the light-
house at New-London j for the support of a lights
house at Clark's Point ; for the erection and sup-
port of a light-house at Wigwam Point ; and for
other purposes.

40. An act supplementary to the laws now in
force, fixing the compensation of the officers of the
Senate and House of Representatives.

41. An act to divide the territory of the United
States north-west of the Ohio, into two separate
governments.

42. An act to enable the President of the Uni-
tedStates to borrow money for the public service.

A a a

370 THE ADMlNISTRAnON

43. An act to continue in force an act laying
an additional duty on salt imported into the United
States, and for other purposes.

41. An act to authorise the allowance of a cre-
dit to William Tazewell.

45. An act to authorise the sale and convey-
ance of lands, in certain cases, by the marshals of
the United States, and to confirm former sales.

46. An act for the regulation of the public ar-
senals and magazines.

47. An act making appropriation forthe support
of government, for the year one thousand eight
hundred.

48. An act making appropriations for the mili-
tary establishment of the United States, for the yeafr
one thousand eight hundred.

49. An act to establish the district of Kenne-
bunk, and to annex Lyme to New-London, to alter
the district of Bermuda-Hundred and City-Point,
and further to amend the act regulating the collec-
tion of duties on imports and tonnage.

50. An act supplemental to the act, intitled,
" An act for an amicable settlement of limits with
the state of Georgia, and authorising the establish-
ment of a government in the Missisippi territory."

5 1 . An act in addition to the act, intitled, "An
act to prohibit the carrying on the slave trade from
the United States to any foreign place or country.**

52. An act for the relief of Ithamar Canfield.

53. An act to provide for equalizing the valua-
tion of unseated lands.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 371

54. An act supplementary to an act, intltlecl,
" An act to establish the comjiensation of theotncers
employed in the collection of the duties on impost
and tonnage."

55- An act to amend an act, intitled, "An act
for the sale of the lands of the United States in the
territory norlh-west of the river Ohio, and above
the mouth of Kentucky river."

56. An act to make appropriations for the navy
of the United States during the year 1800.

57. An act to ascertain the compensation of
public ministers.

58. An act supplementary to the act, intitled,
"An act to establish the treasury department."

59. An act to authorise the issuing of certain
patents.

60. An act directing the payment of adetatch-
ment of the militia under the command of Major
Thomas Johnson, in the year 1794.

6 1 . An act to retain a further sum on drawbacks
for the expences incident to the allowance and pay-
ment thereof, and in lieu of stamp duties on deben-
-tures.

62. An act to make provisions relative to rations
for Indians, and for their visits to the seat of go-
vernment.

63. An act to authorise certain expenditures,
and to make certain additional appropriations tor
the year 1800.

64. An act to lay additional duties on certain
articles imported. ^

372 THE ADMINI8TRATIOII

65. An act enlarging the powers of surveyors
of the revenue.

66. An act to appropriate a certain sum of mo
ney to defray the expences of holding treaty or trea-
ties with the Indians.

67. An act to ma:ke further provisions for the
children of colonel John Harding and major Alex-
ander Trueman, deceased.

68. An act supplementary to the act establish-
ing the mint, and regulating the coins of the United
States.

69. An act supplementary to the act to suspend
part of an act, intitled, " An act to augment the
army of the United States," and for other purposes.

CHAPTER XIV.

Remarks on the Constitution of Connecticut.... Trials
of Cooper, Fries, Callender and Holt... .General
observations.

Of those States which were the abettors of
John Adams and his party, and the opposers of the
rights of American citizens, none, not even Massa-
chusetts, the cradle of aristocracy, made such a con-
spicuous figure as the small State of Connecticut.
This naturally excites our wonder and astonish-
ment, as the inhabitants of this State are principal-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 373

\y employed in the peaceful occupation of hu^and-
ry. But the surprise of the reader will vanish
when he is informed that in no part of the world
the bigotry of priesthood reigns so triumphant, or
that the dark shades of superstition no where cloud
the understanding of man in such a degree, as
among the unhappy natives of Connecticut.

This State has not formed any constitution since
the revolution, but ancient superstition and the
prejudice of custom have established an hierarchy,
which is directed by a sovereign pontiff, twelve
cardinah, a civil council of nine, and about four
hundred parochial bishops.

The present priest, who may be honored with
the appellation of Pope, is Timothy Dwight, Presi-
dent of Yale college. The corporation of this col-
lege, which seems to be the main spring and vital
part of the State government, is composed of the
President, twelve clergymen, and seven senior
members of the first branch of the State Legislature.
The clerical part are all denominated Congregation'
alists, which is the prevailing and principal religi-
ous order in Connecticut.

llie Legislature sits twice each year. The re-
presentative branch is chosen for each session ; the
other branch and chief officers of government, are
chosen annually. The people qualified to vote in
elections, assemble in their several districts in the
month of September, annually, and elect their re-
presentatives ; they also vote for a certain number
of persons who are to be candidates, or to stand in

S74 THE ADMINISTRATION

nomination for election into the first branch of the
Legislature at the next annual election. In April,
the people quahfied to vote, assemble again, choose
their representatives, vote for governor, lieutenant-
governor, and some other officers of government
for the year ensuing j and also from the list or no-
mination made at the preceding meeting in Sep-
tember, they at that time elect the persons v^^ho are
to compose the first branch of the Legislature. In
May the Legislatures convene, when the votes for
governor, &c. are canvassed, and the result of the
election proclaimed. ...This is called the general
election. The representatives in Congress are
elected from a previous nomination, made once in
two years, in the form already mentioned.

The annual commencement at Yale college
takes place in September, a short time previous to
the election of the Legislature. At this time the pre-
sident is attended by his twelve cardinal members
of the corporation, the governor, lieutenant-gov-
ernor, and seven other senior members of the first
legislative house (which compose the lay part) and
the greatest part of the clergy. On this occasion,
the governor and other civilians are subordinate to
the president, and they feel deeply impressed with
a sense of their subordination, knowing that he can
kill or make alive at the next annual election ; that
he emphatically holds the keys which command
their political damnation or salvation.

The Pope, being thus surrounded by his cardi-
nals, his civil councils and his parochial bishops,

OF JOHN ADAMS. 375

determines the order and detail of the ensuing elec-
tion. Each one returns home with a perfect un-
derstanding of the part he is to act. The clergy
apply themselves to such persons in their respec-
tive parishes as can most efl^ectually influence the
representatives in Congress ; and the members'of the
first legislative branch being chosen from the State
at large, and not from particular election districts,
the people can have but little personal knowledge
of the candidates, and must necessarily act through
information received from others. The parochial
bishop claims to know who are the fittest and best
men to be entrusted with the public concerns of
the nation. ...all who are of a different religious de-
nomination from himself, or who deny or doubt
the Pope's supremacy, or infallibility, are denoun-
ced as anti-christian, anti-federal, Jacobinical, dis-
organizing scoundrels. The Sunday previous to
the day on which the people meet to deliver in their
suffrages, is devoted to political harrangues from
the political desk. On these occasions, in the heat
of political zeal, the preacher will name the indivi-
duals who are to receive or be excluded from .po-
pular approbation, and with a holy fervor, instruct
the people of his charge how they are to bestow
their suffrages, threatening divine vengeance on all
who disregard his pious admonitions.

The influence which has been described does
not stop at this point. The newspapers which cir-
culate in every parish, village or neighborhood, are
either patronized or discountenanced by the clergy-

376 THE ADMINISTRATION

man, according as they promote or oppose his de-
signs....his efforts are seconded by all persons seek-
ing offices by clerical aid, or who hold any offices
under that species of influence. Hence the editors
of newspapers in Connecticut, are compelled to
take the current, and the press is employed to de-
stroy or bring into contempt those republican prin^
ciples and sentiments, which led Americans through
the revolutionary war, and secured the indepen-
dence of their country.

The characters of the governor, lieutenant-gov-
ernor and most of the legislators in Connecticut,
are highly federal.*

Mr. Trumbull, the governor, is possessed of
principles that even border upon monarchy.. ..like
Mr. Adams, he approves of the British Constitution
as the most rational and stable of political govern-
ments.

Mr. John Treadwell, the lieutenant-governor,
in his public conduct, has never evinced talents
of a superior order. As a scholar, he has small
claims to distinction. As a judge of a country court,
he does not understand even the terms which the
lawyers make use of in addressing him. As a poli-
tician, he is familiar with the intrigues and cabals
which have existed in Connecticut since he ha*
had a share in her councils, but his views extend
no further. He is unacquainted with the various

* For the characters of the Legislators of Connecticut, the
reader is indebted to a writer in the Aurora of April last, upoa
whose information he may place reliance.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 377

systems of policy, which have been adopted by dif-
ferent nations at successive periods of time, and
he knows nothing of the great principles of legis-
lation.

His conduct, since he came into office, has, on
many occasions, evinced a dark destitution of prin-
ciple, and, though he makes great professions of
christian piety, he has not scrupled to use his ut-
most exertion to injure the reputation of any one
whose station or talents impeded his elevation. His
conduct towards Mr. Lawrence, formerly the trea-
surer of the State, displays the real character of the
man....Treadwell, anxious to remove that gentle-
man from office, to make place for one whom it
was his interest to promote, by artful insinuations
and false representations, induced the council to be-
lieve that there had been misconduct in office, and
caused the treasurer to be removed. But even this
did not satisfy him, for he commenced a prosecu-
tion at law, where, at a solemn trial before the Su-
preme Court, it was proved, beyond the possibility
of a doubt, that the treasurer had conducted himself
with singular fidelity and ability, and his reputation
was vindicatod to the satisfaction of a court and
jury. ...but this did not avail, for his office had been
given to another, and he found at last that there was
no refuge from the persecution of his antagonist
but in the grave.

Mr. Treadwell's elevation has been effi^cted
rather by what was deemed an attachment to the
Hopkintonian systemof divinity, than by any con-

Bbb

3 78 THE ADMlyNlSTRATlOM

formity to the principles c^f the christian. He is
austere in his deportment]; his opinions upon any
subject are cautiously reserved, until he is informed
of those of his companions s the distresses of his
fellow mortals excite no emotion of pity or com-
passion in his breast, and his hand is not open for
the relief of the poor and indigent. The flames
of his passion are never known to burst suddenly
forth, but remain stifled within,, until the fit mo-
ment of revenge arrives, and he obtains his antago-
nist within his power ; he then works his mischief
with composure. The arts of dissimulation have
become so familiar to him, that they influence his
conduct in all the transactions of life ; he knows not
how to appreciate the virtues and talents of others,
and is not heard to acknowledge them when not
exerted for the promotion of his interest. He
considers himself as the first and best of God's
creatures ; that he is above all, and that he was
made to direct and govern all.

Among the leading characters in the upper
house, are Thomas Grosvenor, Thomas Seymour,
Aaron Austin and David Dagget.

Grosvenor was brought into place, like many
others in the same house, no one knows why, and
has been retained, because he has taken good care
to have his name put on the nomination list. His
talents and virtues have never been manifested, ex-
cept by his exertions to destroy the ecclesiastical
society in the town to which he belongs. But his
views not being answered^ he commenced an action

OF JOHN ADAMS. 37^

-at law against the society, which terminated in the
defeat and disgrace of himself and his partizans.
He is scarcely known except in his own town, and
there he is considered to be destitute of sound prin-
ciples, and can obtain no votes for any office. But
his name is always put on the list, by agreement, and
he receiv^es the votes of hundreds, who never knew
him, saw him, or even heard of him.

Seymour was educated for the profession of the
law, and by the influence of great family connec-
tions, obtained a large share of business, though he
never enjoyed the reputation of being a great law-
yer. A few years since he was honored with a seat
on the bench of a country court, and with a place
at the council board. ...from that moment his char-
acter has languished and gradually declined. As
to principles and sentiments, he has displayed none
©f his own, for he uniformly agrees with every per-
son he meets, however different their opinions. No
system of measures is ever proposed, but it receives
his support or opposition, according to its tendency
to increase or diminish his popularity. He has on
some occasions, as a magistrate, appeared very
much disposed to a strict execution of the laws; but
these instances were so different from the general
tenor of his conduct, that his best friends laughed,
and attributed to a sportive sally, what from a
consistent man, would have appeared an act of se-
rious duty.

Sometimes he has pretended to be a firm
fdend to the liberties of the people, and at other

380 THE ADMINISTRATION

times he has avowed himself the undaunted sup-
porter of Hamilton's energetic government. But
he has been so long laboring and always unable to
discover which party would ultimately obtain the
ascendency, and he has shifted his ground so fre-
quently, that neither party will own him ; therefore,
which ever succeeds, as they can derive no cre-
dit from his talents, will, it is presumed, dispense
with his services.

Aaron Austin is distinguished by the possession
-of much common sense, and as the advantage of a
liberal education was not afforded him, he de-
serves much credit for the acquisitions which he has
made. His talents are not great, but his industry
and attention to business, render him a much bet-
ter counsellor than many of his associates.

Mr. David Dagget lays great claims to supe-
riority of talents and virtue, but a survey of his
conduct, since he came into public life, will show
the grounds upon which these claims are founded.

As soon as he had initiated himself into the
favor of Pierpont Edwards, by an unwearied exer-
tion of all the arts of pleasing, he directly pro-
ceeded with the utmost assiduity to improve that
liking into an important confidence.. ..he watch-
ed his every action, word and look, till he dis-
covered the peculiar train of his mind, to which
he accommodated his conduct so implicitly, that
the very faculties of his soul seemed only to move
by the other's will ; that self-love, which is insepa-
rable from humanity, was imposed upon by such

OF JOHN ADAMS. S81

art. Mr. Edwards liked himself in him, and in-
sensibly came to think all reserve unnecessary with
one whose words and actions were wholly at his
controul. He used his utmost exertion to bring
his pupil into notice, gave him much business in his
profession, and by his influence and unceasing la-
bor, raised him to the station which he now holds ;
but his estabHshment in the business of his profes-
sion being effected, and a seat at the council board
being obtained, he immediately manifested that self
was the centre of all his action; and, because he can-
not forget the favors bestowed, he meanly seeks to
destroy the patron, abuse the friend, and laugh at
the obligation. As soon as he found himself so
firmly established, that the exertions of his patron
could do him no further good, he immediately
abandoned him, and with unwearied diligence,
but in a dark and covert manner, labored for the
downfall of his reputation.

His progress in life, and his elevation to the
office of Chancellor, has been marked by a series
of numberless little artifices to delude the people.
AVhen he became a candidate to represent the town
to which he belongs in the legislature, he found it
would be necessary to obtain the votes of the
Episcopalians, and for this purpose, though he be-
longed to a Presbyterian Meeting, purchased a.
pew and frequently read prayers in the Episcopal
Church. His object was answered, but being soon
promoted to the council, he found this office would
be more secure by his being altogether a Prcsby-

S85 THE ADMINISTRATION

terlan ; he therefore sold his pew, forgot the tenets
and neglected the worship of the Church of Eng-
land. AVhile a candidate for promotion he never
scrupled to visit the honest tradesman and me-
chanic, and^ seated on the bench of the shoe-maker,
or the anvil of the black-smith, would flatter each
one that he was the best of the craft ; and more
than that, could, by the ability of his discourse and
the lying of his lips, convince them that he was the
people's friend, and should manage national affairs
with singular skill and ability. When a represen-
tative in the legislature, he apparently manifested
a strong regard for theinterest of the lower classes
of society.. ..the abolition of slavery vras the favo-
rite object of his talk, and all the powers and faculties
©f his mind were brought into operation to display
the tender sensibilities of his nature ; and so anxious
was he to be distinguished for his nice-feeling at
the unfortunate situation of the blacks, that he
turned biographer to a negro that was hung for a
rape. Having now obtained his object, he becomes
desirous of concealing that submission which he
heretofore practised, by the exercise of insolence
and arrogance, to all whom fortune has placed in a
subordinate station.. ..the praise of him whom pub-
lic delusion idolized, flowed freely from his lips, but
always from the motive of encreasing his own po-
pularity rather than from a conviction of the justice
of the praise.

As a public speaker, Mr, Dagget has been
distinguished by these fiualities : invincible assu-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 385

ranee, inflexible obstinacy, and a talent for quibble.
In a debate he mistakes pomposity for learning,
confidence for genius, buffoonery for wit, and sophis-
try for argument. The vulgarity of his language,
his low attempts at humor, and the abuse which
he never fails to bestow upon witnesses, are sure
indications of the meaness of his early habits and
connections, which ^vere formed in obscure and
menial employments. He has, however, a very
handsome share of business, and, by a quickness of
thought and fluency of speech, has acquired some
reputation. By a station for several years at the
bar, and a tolerable retentive memory, he has be-
come well acquainted with the practice of the
courts of Connecticut, and is possessed of the most
obvious principles of the common law ^ but his
warm,est admirers have never imputed to him nn
accurate acquaintance with the English system of
jurisprudence.

As a writer, he possessed every advantage from
the assistance and communication of men of senst!
and learning, but he has not after all made a figure
in the fields of literature. His Pindaric oration,
in which his object was to cast contempt upon ma-
ny important discoveries and improvements of the
present age, launched him forth as one of the mobt
daring aristocratic adventurers on the ocean of po-:
litical controversy : butthe boldness of the attempt
Is more to be admired than th€ execution to be
praised ; and whatever defects may appear in the
systems which he has attacked^ he has clearly

384 THE ADMINISTRATION

manifested that the principles upon which they are
founded, are infinitely above his comprehension.
It attracted the attention of the public for a few-
days, rather from its scurrility than its severity ; but
it has been since consigned to oblivion; to the same
oblivion to which the three letters which he wrote
some time ago to Abraham Bishop, are rapidly
hastening.

From the foregoing observations it would seem,
that in the early part of his public Hfe, virtue and
principle were sacrificed to fame ; yet it will be ob-
served, that among good men he still possesses an
attachment to good things. The sincerity of such
professions, however, cannot be reHed on, when it
is known, that being a magistrate, sworn to ob-
serve and enforce the laws of his country, he not
unfrequently spends whole nights in a tavern, and
at the gaming table.

Though from this view of the character of Mr.
Dagget, it might be concluded, that he is not en-
dowed with great and solid talents, yet his under-
standing would have rendered him a useful man,
ifhe hadbeen a real christian. ...but it must be a mira-
cle, if he, who is ambitious of power, and without
the restraint of principle, is not transferred from a
man to a demon. As he is, he will be remember-
ed only to be execrated by those whose admiration
is praise.

Such were the characters who swayed the politi-
cal sceptre of Connecticut ; a State which may be
regarded, notwithstanding its smallness, to be the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 383

most formidable in the federal league. From
thence issued the most labored and best composed
defences of federalism ; thence the satire which
lashed republicanism and the rights of the people,
and there the expiring host of aristocracy still find
an asylum for their venom and malice.

On Saturday, the 19th of April, 1800, the cause
of the United States against Air. Thomas Cooper,
of Northumberland, came on before the Circuit
Court of the United States, sitting at Philadelphia.
The attorney-general, Mr. Ravvle, opened the
cause, by stating the nature of the offence for which
the defendant was indicted, and read the indict-
ment, which charged the defendant, Thomas Coop-
er, with having printed, uttered and published a
false, scandalous and malicious libel against the
President of the United States, intending to injure
the official character of the said President, and to
bring on him, the said President, the hatred and
contempt of the good people of the United States.
The papers on which the indictment was founded,
was a handbill, an address to the people of North-
umberland county, stating, that under the auspices
of the President, a permanent navy, a standing
armv, a loan of 8 per cent, in time of peace had
been resolved on ; that he, the President, by the
violence of his official expressions, might h::ve pro-
voked a just war against this country ; that he had
projected embassies to Russia, Prussia, and the
Sublime Porte ; that he had "interfered with the ju-
diciary, contrary to all law, precedeut and mercy,

C c c

3S6- THE ADMINI3TRATI01f

and delivered up Jonathan Robbins, an American
citizen,, or native American, forcibly impressed by
a British ship of war, to the mock-trial of a British
court martial, a stretch of pov^^er at which the mon-
arch of Great Britain would have shrunk from
with horror.

Mr. Cooper (protesting against the insinuations
and constructions in the above indictment) pleaded
Not Guilty, and gave the following facts in evi-
dence on the trialy in justification of the supposed

libel :

]st, Mr. Adams, either by himself, or officers-
of 3t3*e acting under his authority, has given the
public to understand, that he would bestow no of-
fice but on persons who conformed to his political
opinions,

2d. Mr. Adams has declared, that a republican
government may mean any thing.

3d, Mr. Adams did sanction the AUen law, and
thereby the abolition of the trial by jury, in the
cases that fall under that law.

4th. Mr, Adams did sanction the Sedition law,
and thereby entrenched his public character be-
hind the legal provision of that law.

5th. Under the auspices of Mr. Adams, the ex-
pence of a permanent navy is saddled on the peo-
ple.

6th. Under the auspices of Mr. Adams, we are
threatened with the existence of a standing army*

7th. The government of the United States has
borrowed money at 8 per cent, in time of peace.

OT JOHN ADAMS. 387

Sth. The unnecessary violence of official ex-
pressions used by Mr. Adams, and those in autho-
rity under him, and his adherents, might justly have
provoked a war.

9th. Political acrimony has been fostered by
those who call themselves his friendly adherents.

10th. Mr. Humphries, after being convicted
of an assault and battery on Benjamin Franklin
Bache, the printer of the Aurora, merely from po-
litical motives, was, before his sentence was ex-
pired, promoted by Mr. Adams to a pubUc office,
viz. to carry dispatches to France.

1 1th. Mr. Adams did project and put in execu-
tion, embassies to Prussia, Russia and the Sublime
Porte.

1 2th. Mr. Adams, in the case of Jonathan Rob-
bins, alias Nash, did interfere to influence the de-
cision of a court of justice.

He then informed the court that he had appli-
ed to Mr. Rawle, the attorney of the United States
for the district, to know whether he would admit
the Gazette of the United States to be read in evi-
dence ; th^t Mr. Rawle replied, he did consider
newspapers as legal testimony ; and that inconse-
quence of this reply, he had applied to Mr. Pick-
ering, the Secretary of State, for copies of certain
addresses and answers, from and to the President
of the United States; and to this application, Mr.
Pickering replied, that these papers were not de-
posited in his office. The defendant observed, that
he considered he had a right to copies of those pa-

S88 THE ADMINISTRATION

pers, from the officers of the government, and read
the case of Rex vs» Holt^ in support of his right...,
and upon this he applied to the President of the
United States, for copies of the papers. He in-
formed the court that he had made application to
the President by a letter, which he read. This let*
ter stated, that being indicted for a supposed libel,
he found it necessary to apply to the President for
/9^cza/ copies of certain addresses to him, (the Pre-
sident) and his answers to them ; and requested
the President to consider his letter as a legal written
application for copies of the papers required by him.
To this letter, the defendant observed, he had re-
ceived no answer j in consequence of his not re-
ceiving an answer, he purchased a volume, pur-
porting to be addresses to the President, and his an-
swers, published in Boston ; that he sent his son
with the volume to Mr. Shaw, the secretary of the
President, \v\\h a note, recfuesting Mr. Shaw to
examine the publications in the volume with the
originals, and inform him if they were correct ; to
this Mr. Shaw made the following answer: ^^ Mr.
Shaw informs Mr. Cooper, that he will not receive
any information concerning answers to addresses
from this house." The defendant then observed,
that he regarded this as an official answer from the
President of the United States, and he did not see
how he could proceed when that testimony which
was necessary to his defence was withheld from
him, '' by the person who may be considered as his
accuser or prosecutor.*'

OF JOHN ADAMS. 389

Air. Rawle opened the case by animadverting
on the select passages in the indictment, and called
Mr. Buyers, a justice of the peace of the country,
to prove Mr. Cooper the author ; who said, that
Mr. Cooper had called at his house w^ith the paper;
said that it w^as his name, pointing to it in the pa-
per, and that he was the author of the piece.

Mr. Cooper then addressed the jury in a speech
©f about three hours and an half, in which he at-
tempted to justify the publication, by endeavoring
to shew that it was true in all its parts, and the con-
duct of the President of the United States merited
the censures which were passed upon it. Air.
Cooper continued his speech until exhausted with
fatigue, and the indulgence of the court, which
manifested itself through the whole trial, was here
conspicuous. Judge Chase declared he would pa^
tiently wait until the defendant refreshed himself,
and was able to resume his defence. This very
liberal proposition of the judge, the defendant de-
clined. Mr. Rawle addressed the jury, after which
judge Chase summed up the evidence, and the
jury in about twenty minutes returned their verdict,

GUILTY.

Judge Chase then addressed Mr. Cooper in tlie
following words : "As the jury have found you guil-
ty, we wish to hear any circumstances you have to
offer in point of the mitigation of the fine the court
may think proper to impose on you, and also in ex-
tenuation of your punishment. We should, there-
fore, wish to know your situation in life in regard

S90 THE ADMINrSTRATIOK

to your circumstances.... it will be proper for you to
consider of this. As yoa are under recognizance*
you will attend the court some time the latter end
of the week.*'

The court met again on Wednesday, for the
purpose of passing sentence, when Mr. Cooper
addressed the m as follows : *'The court having de-
sired me to offer any thing relating to my circum-
stances in mitigation of the fine, or any observations
that occurs to me in extenuation of the offence,
I have thought it my duty, (not for the purpose of
deprecating any punishment which the court may
deem it proper to inflict, but) to prevent any acci-
dental or apparent harshness of punishment on part
of the court, for want of that information which it
is in my power to give. For this reason, therefore,
and that tli^e court may not be misled, I think it
right to say that my property in this country is mo-
derate. That some resources I had in England,
commercial failures there have lately cut off: that I
depend principally on my practice : that practice
imprisonment will annihilate. Be it so. I have
been accustomed to make sacrifices to opinion, and
I can make this. As to circumstances in extenua-
tion, not being conscious that I have set down
aught in malice, I have nothing to extenuate,"

Judge Chase, I have heard what you have to
say. I am sorry you did not think proper to make
an aflBdavit in regard to your circumstances ; you
are a perfect stranger to the court, to me at least.
I do not know you personally....! know nothing of

OF JOHN ADAMS. 391

you more, than having lately heard your name men-
tioned in some publication. Every person knows
the political disputes which have existed amongst
us. It is notorious, that there arc two parties in the
country. ...you have stated this yourself.. ..you have
taken one side ; we do not pretend to say that you
have not a right to express your sentiments, only
taking care not to injure the characters of those to
whom you are opposed.

Your circumstances ought to have been dis-
closed on affidavit, that the court might have judged
as to the amount of the offence ; nor did we want
to hurt you by this open disclosure.

Mr. Cooper. I have nothing to disclose that
I am ashamed of.

Judge Chase. If we were to indulge our own
ideas, there is room to suspect that in cases of this
kind, where one party is against the government^
gentlemen who write for that party would be in-
demnified against any pecuniary loss ; and that the
party would pay any fine which might be imposed
on the person convicted. You must know, I sup-
pose, before you make any publication of this kind ,
whether you were to be supported by a party or
not, and whether you would not be indemnified
against any pecuniary loss, ...if the fine were only to
fall on yourself, I would consider your circumstan-
ces, but if I could believe you were supported by a
party inimical to the government, and that thei/ were
to pay the fine, not you, I would go to the utmost
extent of the power of the court. I uiiderstand you

392 TH£ ADMINISTRATION

have a family, but you have not thought proper to
state that to the court. From what I can gather
from you, it appears, that you depend on your pro-
fession for support. ...w^e do not wish to impose so
rigorous a fine as to be beyond a pcrson*s abiHties
to support, but the government must be secured
against these malicious attacks. You say that you
are not conscious of having acted from malicious
motives. It may be so ; saying so, we must be-
lieve you. ...but the jury have found otherwise: you
are a gentleman of the profession, of such capacity
and knowledge as to have it more in your power to
mislead the ignorant. I do not want to oppress,
but I will restrain, as far as I can, all such licentious
attacks on the government of the country.

Mr, Cooper, I have been asked by the court
whether, incase of fine being imposed upon me, I
should be supported by a party. Sir, I solemnly
aver, that throughout my life, here and elsewhere,
among all the political questions in which I have
been concerned, I have never so far demeaned mv-
self as to be a party writer. I never was in the pay,
or under the support, of any party. ...there is no party
in this or any other country, that can offer me a
temptation to prostitute my pen. If there are any
persons here who are acquainted with what I have
published, they must feel and be satisfied that I
have had higher and better motives, than a party
could suggest. I have written to the best of my
ability, what I have seriously thought would con-
duce to the general good of mankind. The exer^

OF JOHN ADAMS. 393

tions of my talents, such as they are, have been un-
bought, and so they shall continue. ...they have in-
deed been paid for, but they have been paid for by
myself, and by myself only, and sometimes dearly.
The public is my debtor, and what I have paid or
suffered for them, if my duty should again call upon
me to write or to act, I shall again most readily
submit to. I do not pretend to have no party
opinions, to have no predilection for particular de-
scriptions of men or of measures ; but I do not act
upon minor considerations : I belong here, as in
my former country, to the great party of mankind.
With regard to any offers which may have been
made to me to enable me to discharge the fine
which may be imposed, I will state candidly to the
court what has passed, for I wish not to conceal
the truth : I have had no previous communication
or promise whatever; I have since had no specific
promises of money or any thing else. I wrote from
my own suggestions. But manyof my friends have,
in the expectation of a verdict against me, come
forward with general offers of pecuniary assistance :
these offers I have hitherto neither accepted or re-
jected. If the court should impose a fine beyond
my ability to pay, I shall accept them without he-
sitation, but if the fine be within my circumstances
to discharge, I shall pay it myself: but the insinu-
ations of the court are ill founded, and if you, sir,
from misapprehension or misinformation have been
tempted to make them, your mistake should be
corrected.

Ddd

591 THE ADMINISTRATION"

Judge Peters. I think we have nothing to do
with parties.. ..we are only to consider the subject
before us. I wish you had thought proper to make
an affidavit of your property....! have nothing to
do, sitting herCj-to enquire whether a party in whose
favor you may be, or you, are to pay the fine. I
shall only consider your circumstances, and impose
a fine which I think adequate ; we ought to avoid
any oppression. It appears that you depend chief-
ly upon your profession for support. Imprison-
ment for any time would tend to increase the fine,
as your family would be deprived of your profes-
sional abilities to maintain them.

Judge Chase. We will take time to consider
this. Mr Cooper, you may attend here again.

Thursday. Mr. Cooper attended, and the court
sentenced him to pay a fine of four hundred dol-
lars ; to be imprisoned for six months, and at the
end of that period to find surety for his good beha-
vior, himself in a thousand, and two sureties in five
hundred dollars each.

The second trial of John Fries was brought on
at Philadelphia on the SOth of April ; the former
witnesses were examined, and a verdict was re-
turned by the jury as before, finding the prisoner
guilty of high treason. Judge Chase then address-
ed Fries in the following words :

"John Fries.. ..You have already been informed
that you stood convicted of the treason, charged
upon you by the indictment on w^hich you have
been arraigned, of levying war against the United

OF JOHN ADAMS. Ty95

States. You had a legal, fair and impartial trial,
with every indulgence that the law would permit.
Of the whole pannel, you peremptorily challenged
thirty-four, and, with truth I may say, that the jury
who tried you were of your own selection and
choice. Not one of them before had ever formed
and delivered any opinion respecting your guilt
or innocence. The verdict of the jury againstyou
was founded on the testimony of many creditable
and unexceptionable witnesses. It was apparent
from the conduct of the jury, when they deHvcred
tlieir verdict, that if innocent they would have ac-
quitted you with pleasure, and that they pronounced
their verdict against you with great concern and
reluctance, from a sense of duty to their country^,
and a full conviction of your guilt.

*' The crime of which you have been found guil-
ty is treason ; a crime, considered in the most ci-
vilized and the most free countries in the world,
as the greatest that any man can commit. It is a
crime of so great a dye, and attended with such a
train of fatal consequences^ that it can receive no
aggravation ; yet the duty of my station requires
that I should explain to you the nature of the crime
of which you are convicted ; to shew the necessity
of that justice, which is this day to be administer-
ed y and to awaken your mind to proper reflections
and a due sense of your own condition, which I
imagine you must have reflected upon during your
long confinement.

596 THE ADMINISTRATION

"You are a native of this country. You live under
a constitution or form of government framed by the
people themselves ; and under lav^s made by your
representatives, faithfully executed by independent
and impartial judges. Your government secures
to every member of the community, equal liberty
and equal rights ; by which equality of liberty and
rights, I mean that every person, without regard
to wealth, rank or station, may enjoy an equal
share of civil liberty, on equal protection of law,
and an equal security for his person and property.
You enjoyed, in common with your fellow citizens,
all these rights.

*^ If experience should prove that the constitu-
tion is defective, it provides a mode to change or
amend it, without any danger to public order, or any
injury to social rights.

"If Congress, from inattention, error in judg-
ment, or want of information, should pass any law
in violation of the constitution, or burthensome or
oppressive to the people, a peaceable, safe and ample
remedy is provided by the constitution. The peo-
ple themselves have established the mode by which
such grievances are to be redressed; and no other
mode can be adopted without a violation of the con-
stitution, and of the laws. If Congress should pass
a law contrary to the constitution, such law would
be void, and the courts of the United States pos-
sess complete authority, and are the only tribunal
to decide, whether any law is contrary to the con-
stitution. If Congress should pass burthensome

CF JOHN ADAMS. 397

or oppressive laws, the remedy is with their con-
stituents, from whom they derive their existence
and authority. If any law is made, repugnant to
the voice of a majority of their constituents, it is in
their power to make choice of persons to repeal it ;
but until it is repealed, it is the duty of every citi-
zen to submit to it, and to give up his private senti-
ments to the public will. If a law, burthensome,
or even oppressive in its nature or execution, is to
be opposed by force, and obedience cannot be com-
pelled, there must soon be an end to all government
in this country. It cannot be credited by dispas-
sionate men of any information, that Congress will
intentionally make laws in violation of the constitu-
tion, contrary to their sacred trust and solemn obli-
gation to support it. None can believe that Con-
gress will wilfully or intentionally impose unreason-
able and unjust burthens on their constituents, in
which they must participate. The most ignorant
man must know, that Congress can make no law,
that will not affect them equally, in every respect,
with their constituents. Every law that is detri-
mental to their constituents, must prove hurtful to
themselves. From these considerations, every one
may see, that Congress can have no interest in op-
pressing their fellow citizens.

'' It is almost incredible, that a people, living un-
der the best and mildest government in the whole
world, should not only be dissatisfied and discon-
tented, but should breakout in open resistance and
opposition to its laws.

398 THE ADMINISTRATION

^'The Insurrection in 1794, in the four western
counties of this State, particularly in Washington,
to oppose the execution of the laws of the United
States, which laid duties on stills, and spirits dis-
tilled within the United States, is still fresh in
memory. It origijiated from prejudices and mis-
representations, industriously disseminated and dif-
fused against those laws. Either persons disaffected
to our government, or wishing to aggrandize them-
selves, deceived and misled the ignorant and unin-
formed class of the people. The opposition com-
menced in meetings of the people, with threats
against the officers, which ripened into acts of out-
rage against them, and were extended to private
citizens. Committees were formed to systematize
and inflame the spirit of opposition. Violence
succeeded to violence, and the collector of Fayette
county was compelled to surrender his commission
and official books ; the dwelling-house of the in-
spector, (in the vicinity of Pittsburg) was attacked
and burnt ; and the marshal was seized, and obtain-
ed his liberty on a promise to serve no process on
the west side of the Alleghany mountain. To
compel submission to the laws, the government
were obliged to march an army against the insur-
gents, and the expence was above one million one
hundred thousand dollars. Of the whole number
of insurgents, (many hundreds) only a few were
brought to trial, and of them only two were sen-
tenced to die, (Vigol and Mitchell) and they were
pardoned by the late President. Although the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 399

insurgents made no resistance to the army sent
against them, yet not a few of our troops lost their
lives inconsequence of their great fatigue, and ex-
posure to the severity of the season.

'* This great and remarkable clemency of the go-
vernment had no effect upon you, and the dehided
people in your neighborhood. The rise, progress
and termination of the late insurrection, bear a
strong and striking analogy to the former; and it
may be remembered, that it has cost the United
States 80,000 dollars. It cannot escape observa-
tion, that the ignorant and uninformed are taught
to complain of taxes which are necessary for the
support of government, and yet they permit them-
selves to be seduced into insurrections, which have
so enormously increased the public burthens, to
which their contribution can scarcely be calculated.

" When citizens combine and assemble, with
intent to prevent, by threats, intimidation and vio-
lence, the execution of the laws, and they actually
carry such traiterous designs into execution, they
reduce the government to the alternative of pros-
trating the laws before the insurgents, or of taking
necessary measures to compel submission. No go-
vernment can hesitate. The expence, and all the
consequences, therefore, are not imputable to the
government, but to the insurgents.. ..the mildness
and lenity of our government areas striking on the
late as on the former insurrection : of nearly 130
persons, who might have been put on their trial for

400 THE ADMINISTRATION

treason, only five have been prosecuted, and tried
for that crime.

" In the late insurrection, you, John Fries, bore a
conspicuous and leading part. If you had reflect-
ed, you would have seen that your attempt was as
weak as it was wicked. It was the height of folly
in you to suppose that the great body of our citi-
zens, blest in the enjoyment of a free republican
government of their own choice, and of all rights
civil and religious ; secure in their persons and pro-
perty, and conscious that the laws are the only se-
curity for their preservation from violence, would
not rise up as one man to oppose and crush so ill-
founded, so unprovoked an attempt to disturb the
public peace and tranquillity. If you could see in a
proper light your own folly and wickedness, you
ought now to bless God that your insurrection was
so happily and speedily quelled, by the vigilance
and energy of our government, aided by the patri-
otism and activity of your fellow citizens, who left
their homes and business, and embodied themselves
in the support of its laws.

" The annual necessary expenditures for the sup-
port of an extensive government like ours, must
be great, and the sum required can only be obtain-
ed by taxes or loans. In all countries the levying
taxes is unpopular, and a subject of complaint. It
appears to me that there was not the least pretence
of complaint against, much less of opposition and
violence to the law for levying taxes on dwelling-
houses, and it becomes you to recollect, that the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 401

time you chose to rise up in arms to oppose the laws
of our country, was when it stood in a very critical
situation with regard to France, and on the eve of
a rupture with that country.

" I cannot omit to remind you of another matter
worthy of your consideration. If the marshal, or
any of the posse, or any of the four friends of gov-
ernment who were with him, had been killed by
you, or any of your deluded followers, the crime of
murder would have been added to the crime of
treason.

'"' In your serious hours of reflection, you ought
to consider the consequences that would have flow-
ed from the insurrection, which you excited, en-
couraged, and promoted in the character of a cap-
tain of militia, whose incumbent duty it is to stand
ready (whenever required) to assist and defend
the government and its laws, if it had not been
immediately quelled. Violence, oppression and
rapine, destruction, waste and murder, always at-
tend the progress of insurrection and rebellion ;
the arm of the father would have been raised against
the son ; that of the son against the father; a bro-
ther's hand would have been stained with brother's
blood; the sacred bands of friendship would have
been broken, and the ties of natural affection would
have been dissolved.

"The end of all punishment is example; and
the enormity of your crime requires that a severe
example should be made to deter others trom the
commission of like crimes in future. You havr

Ee e

402 THE ADMINISTRATION

forfeited your life to justice. ...let me therefore ear-
nestly recommend to you, most seriously to consi-
der your situation ; to take a review of your past
life, and to employ the very little time you are to
continue in this world, in endeavors to make your
peace with that God, whose mercy is equal to his
justice. I expect that you are a christian, and as
such I address you. Be assured, my guilty and un-
happy fellow citizen, that without serious repen-
tance of all your sins, you cannot expect happiness
in the world to come ; and to your repentance you
must add faith and hope in the merits and media-
tion of Jesus Christ. These are the only terms
upon which pardon and forgiveness are promised to
those who profess the christian religion. Let me
therefore again entreat you to apply every moment
you have left, in contrition, sorrow and repentance.
Your day of life is almost spent, and the night of
death fast approaches. Look up to the father of
mercies, and God of comfort. You have a great
and an immense work to perform, and but little
time in w^hich you must finish it. There is no
repentance in the grave ; for after death comes
judgment ; and as you die so you must be judg-
ed. By repentance and faith, you are the object
of God's mercy , but if you will not repent, and
have faith and dependance upon the merits of the
death of Christ, but die a hardened and impeni-
tent sinner, you will be the object of God's justice
and vengeance. If you will sincerely repent and
believe, God hath pronounced his forgiveness j and

OF JOHN ADAMS. 403

there is no crime too great for his mercy and par-
don.

" Although you must be strictly confined for the
very short remainder of your life, yet the mild go-
vernment and laws, which you have endeavored to
destroy, permit you (if you please) to converse and
commune with ministers of the gospel ; to whose
pious care and consolation, in fervent prayers and
devotion, I most cordially recommend you.

" What remains for me is a very painful but a
very necessary part of my duty. It is to pronounce
that judgment which the law has appointed for
crimes of this magnitude. The judgment of thelaw
is, and this court doth award, " that you be hanged
by the neck until dead \' and I pray God Almighty
to be merciful to your soul."

On the 28th of May the trial of James Thom-
son Callender, for a libel against the President of the
United States, came before the circuit court, at
Richmond, in Virginia, in which Judge Chase pre-
sided. Mr. Hay, as counsel for Mr. Callender,
moved the court to postpone the trial till the next
term.

Judge Chase observed, that it would be first
proper to read the indictment.

Mr. Hay said it could not be necessary to read
the indictment. In prosecutions for misdemeanors
in the State courts, the defendant was not arraign-
ed. The party accused was in court, and both he
and his counsel were willing to admit, that they had

404 THE ADMINISTRATION

been furnished with a copy of the indictment, and
that they were prepared to put in their plea.

The Judge, however, instantly ordered the in-
dictment to be read, declaring if this was not done,
it would be said that the traverser had not been
made acquainted with the nature of his offence,
and consequently could not be prepared to answer
to the various charges alledged against him.

Some observations w^ere then made by the At-
torney-General and Mr. Hay, respecting the mode
of practice observed in the courts of this common-
wealth, when by the direction of the court, the clerk
proceeded to read the indictment, to the different
charges of which Mr. Callender pleaded Not Guilty.

Mr. Hay then renewed his motion for a conti-
nuance, and offered to the court two affidavits
sworn to by Mr. Callender. One of the affidavits
Avas in the usual form of those for similar purposes
in the courts of Virginia ; that is, stating generally
the names of persons whose testimony was essen-
tial to a fair trial. The other not only contained a
similar statement, but also went to explain the dif-
ferent facts which it was believed each witness
could substantiate.

Mr. Hay observed, that he had procured the
last affidavit, because he had been informed, that
such an one would be required by the court ; but
that he presumed he might first offer the general
affidavit, and if that was insufficient, he should con-
sider himself at liberty to offer the special affidavit.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 405

The Judge said that he might act as he thought
proper, but that a material difference would be
made, where the traverser was provided with coun-
sel, and w^hen he defended himself ; in the latter
case, if an affidavit was offered, the substance of
which was insufficient to procure a continuance, an
amendment would be consented to, because it
might be presumed that the party was ignorant of
the law : but in the last instance it could only be
done with the consent of the Attorney of the Uni-
ted States.

Mr. Hay applied then to the Attorney for the
United States, w^ho observed, that the traverser had
better take his strongest ground.. ..upon which, the
special affidavit was immediately read, of which
the following is a copy :

" City of Richmond, ss.... This day, James Thom-
son Callender, made oath before^ me, a magistrate
of the said city, that William Gardner, Tench Coxe,
Judge Bee, Timothy Pickering, William B. Giles,
Stevens Thomson Mason, and General Blackburn,
he believes to be material witnesses in the defence
against an indictment found against him during the
present term of the circuit court of the United
States, tor the middle circuit, Virginia district....
that William Gardner aforesaid, resides, he believes,
in Portsmouth, in the State of New-Hampshire....
that Tench Coxe aforesaid, resides in Philadelphia,
in the State of Pennsylvania. ...that Judge Bee re-
sides, thedeponenthath understood, in South-Caro-
Jina, but in what part of the State he knov/s not....

406 THE ADMINISTRATION

that Timothy Pickering aforesaid, resided of late
in Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, but
where he resides at this time, the deponent doth not
know. ...that William B. Giles aforesaid, he hath
understood, since he hath been furnished with a
copy of the indictment, and since the said Giles
hath left town, resides in the county of Amelia....
and that General Blackburn resides in the county of
Bath.

" The said James Thomson Callender, further
declareth, that he expects to prove by the said Wil-
liam Gardner, and that he verily believes that he
shall prove by the said William Gardner, that the
said William Gardner was commissioner of loans,
for the State of New-Hampshire, under the go-
vernment of the United States, and that he was
turned out of the said office of commissioner of
loans, because he, the said Gardner, refused to sub-
scribe an address, circulated in the town of Ports-
mouth in New-Hampshire, and presented to the
President of the United States, in the year 1798,
at the instance of several of the inhabitants of the'
said town, in which address unequivocal appro-
bation of the conduct of the said President, in the
administration of the affairs of the United States,
is expressed.

" The said James Thomson Callender, also de-
clares on oath, that he verily believes, that he shall
prove by the evidence of Tench Coxe, aforesaid,
that he, the said Tench Coxe, held in the year 1798,
an important office under the government of the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 407

United States, to wit, commissioner of the revenue,
from which office, the said Coxe was ejected, by
the present President of the United States, because
he did not approve the measures of the said Presi-
dent's administration, or the principles on which it
was conducted.

" That he verily believes that he shall be able to
prove by the evidence of Judge Bee, that he did
receive from the President of the United States, in
the year 1799, a letter in which he, the said Presi-
dent, did advise and request the said Judge Bee,
then acting in his judicial character, to deliver to
the consul of the British nation in Charleston, Jo-
nathan Robbins, alias, Thomas Nash, who had been
apprehended and carried before the said judge, on
a charge of murder committed on the high seas, on
board the British frigate Hermione.

" He further deposes on oath, that he verily be-
lieves, that he shall be able to prove by the evi-
dence of Timothy Pickering, that the President of
the United States was in possession of dispatches
from Mr. Vans Murray, American minister of
Holland, containing assurances on the part of the
French Republic, that ambassadors from the Uni-
ted States would be received in a way satisfactory
to the people and government of the United States,
many weeks, while Congress was in session, before
he communicated the same to Congress.

" The deponent further saith, he verily heliev-
eth, that he shall be able to prove, by the evidence
of Stevens Thomson Mason, ajid A\'illiam B.

408 THE ADMINISTRATION

Giles, that John Adams, President of the United
States, has unequivocally avowed in conversation
with them, principles utterly incompatible with
the principles of the present Constitution of the
United States, principles which could not be car-
ried into operation under any political institution,
without the establishment of a direct, powerful and
dangerous aristocracy ; that he declared in express
terms to the said Stevens T. Mason, that he had
no more idea the present federal constitution could,
for any length of time, controul the people of the
United States, than that it could controul the mo-
tion of the planets ; that he also declared to the
said Stevens T. Mason, that he had no more idea
that a political society could exist without a dis-
tinction of ranks, than that an army could exist
"without officei:s : and also, that he can prove by the
said William B. Giles, that the President of the
United States has avowed in conversation with him,
a sentiment to this effect... .that he thous:ht that the
Executive Department of the United States ought to
be vested with power to direct and controul the
public will.

" That this deponent verily believes that he
shall be able to prove by General Blackburn, that
he did, on the day of in the

year 1798, receive an address from John Adams,
President of the United States, in answer to the
field officers of Bath County, in which the said
President does avow, that there was a party in
Virginia, which deserved to be humbled in dust

OF JOHN ADAMS. 409

and ashes, before the indignant frowns of their in-
jured, insulted and offended country.

" And this deponent further saith, that he is
advised, and believes that it is material to his defence
against the indictment aforesaid, that he should
procure authentic copies of sundry answers made
by the President of the United States, in various
parts thereof; which authentic copies he cannot
procure so as to be in readiness for trial during the
present term.

"He also saith, that he is advised, and that he
doth believe that a certain book, intitled, " An es-
say on canon and feudal law," or intitled in words
to that purport, ascribed to the present President
of the United States, and of which he believes the
President is the author, is material to his defence,
and that he cannot procure a copy of the same, and
evidence to prove that the said President is the au-
thor thereof, without being allowed several weeks,
or perhaps months, for the purpose.

" He further saith, that he is told by the coun-
sel who mean to appear for him, that they cannot
possibly be prepared to investigate the evidence
relating to the several charges in the indictment,
even if all the persons and documents wanted were
on the spot."

The jury being called, Mr. Nicholas stated
to the court, that he conceived there was legal
ground of challenge to the array. In support of
this, he read the passage from trials per pais. Mr.
Nicholas then added, that he believed there was

Fff

410 THE ADMINISTRATION

testimony in court to shew that the sheriff had re-
turned a juror who avowed his sentiments extreme-
ly hostile to the traverser.

Judge Chase, Why, sir, how is this business
done in your country ? I have always seen triors
sworn to decide these questions....! suppose there
must be triors sworn.

Mi\ Nicholas. I believe the books lay down
this distinction : Challenges to the array are either
principal challenges, or challenges for favor. —
Causes of principal challenge are always tried by
the court. Challenges for favor are always deci-
ded by triors.

Judge CJiase, Well, sir, your challenge is for favor.

Mr, Nicholas. The book in my hand states it a
cause of prmcipal challenge.

Judge Chase. I^et me see that book ; it is not
the best authority... if I had Coke upon Lyttleton we
should see the whole doctrine at once. lam per-
suaded that the oath of triors is laid down there.

Coke upon Lyttleton w^as brought, and the
judge having run over the passage which is copied
into the trial per pais, observed that the case was
clear, that principal challenges to the array were
for partiality in the sheriff, not in the juror.

Mr. Nicholas admitted it, but enquired whe-
ther the law might not consider the return of a
partial juror as a sufficient proof of partiality on the
part of the sheriff to ground a challenge to the array.

Judge CJicise, No, sir, no : you must proceed
regularly. I'll tell you what you may do : You

OF JOHN ADAMS. 411

may bring in proof if you can that any juror has de-
livered his opinion upon the case hitherto, or you
may examine the juror himself on oath to this ef-
fect....you may do either, but not both ; and you
are to consider this as a favor and not a right. The
counsel having chosen to rely on the jurors them-
selves, a juror was sworn to answer questions, and
the judge put the following question to him :

" Have you ever formed and delivered an opin-
ion upon the charges in the indictment?" The juror
answered that he had never seen the indictment or
heard it read.

Judge Chase. Very well. ...swear him in chief.

Air. Hay. Will the court permit me to put a
question to the juror before he is sworn in chief?

Judge Chase, What sort of a question do you
want to put ? I must hear the question ; and then
U I choose, you may put it. Come^ what is your
question ?

Air, Hay. The question which, with the per-
mission of the court, I meant to have asked is this :
** Have you ever formed an opinion on the book in-
titled " The Prospect before Us," from which the
charges in the indictment are extracted ?"

Judge Chase. You shall ask no such question.
I'll tell you what the only proper question is : " Have
you ever formed and delivered an opinion upon this
particular charge r" I say formed and delivered, for
he must have delivered the opinion as well as form-
ed it. ...he has answered that he never saw the in-
dictment or heard it read.

412 THE ADMINISTRATION

Air. Hay. Will the court suffer him to hear
the indictment read now ; because, perhaps, when
he understands what the charge is, he will an-
swer that he has formed and delivered an opinion
upon it.

Judge Chase. No, sir, no : the court cannot
indulge you so far ; they have gone as far as they
can, and you ought to be satisfied.

The jury were then sworn, and the prosecu-
tor proceeded to prove the fact of publication. The
evidence introduced on the part of the U. States
was unquestionably sufScientto prove that the tra-
verser was the author of the ^* Prospect.'* This
point was ascertained by the testimony ofW. A.
Rind, the editor of the " Federalist," who had
printed the book by contract, and had retained
a part of the original manuscript. This he produ-
ced in court, and swore to the hand writing of Cal-
lender. In this stage of the proceeding, the judge
put frequent and pointed questions to the witness,
and was at the trouble of comparing the manuscript
with the corresponding passages in the book,
which it required some time to find. Before Mr.
Rind was sworn, the counsel for the traverser, Mr.
Hay^ observed, that he understood the witness then
^bout to be introduced to prove the guilt of the ac-
cused, was himself, in the estimation of the law, e-
qually guilty -, because he had printed, though he
had not written the libel in question ; and he would
therefore take leave to make • known to the wit-
nesses, who were in any degree implicated in the

OF JOHN ADAMfi. 4J3

transactions, that they were not bound to accuse
themselves, and might, if they pleased, withhold
every part of their testimony which has a tendency
to their own crimination. The judge remarked,
with his usual promptitude, that though the princi-
ple advanced by the counsel for the traverser was
true, it was of no consequence, because the wit-
nesses, whose evidence was called for by the Uni-
ted States, might rest assured that they were not to
be molested. Mr. Rind, between whom and Cal-
lender great animosity had subsisted, did not choose
to avail himself of the right to withdraw, thus ac-
knowledged by the court, as soiiie meUy perhaps,
from erroneous sentiments of delicacy and honor,
would have done ; nor had he the weakness even to
hesitate in making his choice. He went to the
book with a promptitude at least equal to that with
which the judge had told him he might do it with
safety.

The evidence on the part of the prosecution
being finished, the counsel for the traverser desired
that Colonel Taylor, of Caroline, might be sworn...
he was sworn. At the moment when the oath was
administered, the judge called on the counsel for
the traverser, and desired to know what they in-
tended to prove by the witness. He was told that
they intended to examine Colonel Taylor, to prove
that jSlr. Adams had avowed, in his presence, prin-
ciples in hostility with a republican government ;
that he had voted against the sequestration law, and

414 THE ADMINISTRATION

the resolution concerning commercial intercourse
with Great Britain.

The judge demanded a statement in writing of
the questions he meant to be put to the witness.
Mr. Nicholas remarked, that this requisition was
not conformable to the usages of the State, and had
not been made when the Attorney for the United
States introduced witnesses on the part of the pro-
secution. The truth is, that I do not know what
the witness can prove. I wish him to state all that
he knows w^hich can apply to the defence of the tra-
verser on this charge. My interrogatories will be
suggested by the facts which he may state. But if
the court insist upon it, I will furnish a statement
of the questions which I shall propound in the first
instance ; requesting, at the same time, that I may
not be considered as being confined in the exami-
nation of the witnesses to the questions so stated.

The judge said in reply, that the demand
which he had made was legal and proper, and that
the Attorney for the United States, in opening the
cause, had stated the purpose for which he intro-
duced the witnesses ; but, continued he, though
this was done, we were not bound to do so.

The judge having received a statement of the
questions,* declared Colonel Taylor's evidence to
be inadmissible. No evidence can be received, said

* Questions alluded to, which were propounded by Mr.
Nicholas ;

Q^ I . Did you ever hear Mr. Adams express any opinions
favorable to monarchy and aristocracy, and what were they ?

OF JOHN ADAMS. 415

he, that does not go to justify the whole charge.
The charge is, that the traverser has said that " the
President is a professed aristocrat. He had prov-
ed faithful and serviceable to the British interest.'*
Now you must prove both of these points or you
prove nothing ; and as your evidence relates to one
only, it cannot be received. This is the law ; and
I pronounce it to be so. You have all along mis-
taken this business, and you keep pressing your
mistakes upon the court. I tell you that you can-
not prove part of a charge. ...you must prove the
whole or none. Mr. Nicholas said, can we not
prove one part of the charge by one witness and
another part by another ; and by that means make
out the proof of the whole charge ?

Understand me, sir, said the judge. If your
witness can prove the whole of any one charge, let
him doit. If he cannot, you must not examine
him.

The counsel for the traverser again desired to
be heard on this subject. Mr. Hay said they meant
to justify the whole charge ; that they meant to
prove by Colonel Taylor, that the President of the
United States had in conversation avowed anti-re-
publican principles, and that he had proved faithful
and serviceable to the British interest, at least in

0^2. Did you ever hear Mr. Adams, whilst Vice President,
express his disapprobation of the funding system ?

0^3. Do you know whether Mr. Adams did not, in the
year 1798, vote against the sequestration law, and the bill for
stepping all intercourse with England ?

416 THE ADMINI5TP.ATI0N

the sense in which the assertion was made by the
traverser, by giving the votes before mentioned.

The judge instantly repeated his decision. My
country, said he, has made me ajudge, and it is my
business to pronounce the law. The evidence of-
fered is inadmissible. The counsel for the traver-
ser knows it be so ; but they want to deceive and
mislead the populace. I take upon myself the re-
sponsibility of this decision, and I say, that the tes-
timony of this witness cannot be received.

IVhen it v/as thus finally decided, that the
trial should progress without any evidence in sup-
port of the defence, though the traverser had sworn,
and truly sworn, that much could be adduced ; the.
Attorney for the United States rose, for the pur-
pose of pointing out to the jury the passages in the
" Prospect," corresponding with those in the in-
dictment. He was interrupted by Mr. Hay, who
informed him that he meant to object to the intro-
duction of the book v/hich he held in his hand, as
evidence in support of the indictment.

What ? vociferated the judge. Mr. Hay re-
peated what he had said. Upon what ground ?
said the judge. I will state it, said Mr. H. if the
court will hear me. Let us have it then, said the
judge.

Mr. H. began by saying, that he addressed
the court with great diffidence on the point which
he w^as about to mention. It w^as a subject which
he did not thoroughly understand, and which cir-
cumstances had not allowed him leisure to investi-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 417

gate . It had been the pleasure of the court to ob-
serve that the defence had begun and continued
in error. What he was about to say, would not,
perhaps, induce the court to change that opinion ;
but if he was mistaken in the position which he
meant to advance, the severityof the censure which
the court might pronounce, ought to be mitigated,
when it was remembered that the trial was brousrht
on with a rapidity which precluded the possibility
of a full examination of the case.

Mr. H. proceeded to observe that the specific
proposition for which he commenced was, that the
book in the hands of the Attorney for the United
States, which was intitled, " The Prospect before
Us,** was not evidence in support of the indictment.

In prosecutions for libels, said Mr. H. in the
English courts, great strictness is observed ; if there
be a difference of a single letter, between the li-
bellous words charged in the indictment, and the
printed or written paper adduced in evidence, the
variance is fatal. It is the duty of the prosecutor
to give " the tenor" of the libel, and it has been
frequently determined that this word imposes on
him the necessity of giving an exact and liberal co-
py. The omission or addition of a letter, or the
substitution of one letter for another, where a differ-
ent word was produced, was an incurable defect.
Mr. Hay, in support of this opinion, quoted
Salkeld's Reports, page 417, and Ilawkin's pleas
of the crown. Here Judge Chase iiiterrupt-

4-18 THE ADM1N13TRATIOIJ

ed Mr. II. to tell him that he was mistaken in
the law. That the words '' tenor and effect/^
which were used in the indictment, justified the
prosecutor in giving only the substance of the libel
if he thought proper. It is contended, said he,
that the original must be copied in the indictment,
verbatim et literatim. I wonder they do not con-
form piinctuatim too. The law is not so.

Mr. H. observed that he did not know what
the decisions in the courts of the United States had
been ; but the English authorities supported the
doctrine Vvhich he advanced.

The principle, continued Mr. H. which renders
this strictness necessary and proper, applies with
full force to the case before the court. The traver-
ser is charged with a libellous wrhing of the follow-
ing tenor : '' The reign of Mr. Adams, &c.** In
support of this charge a book is introduced, which
is not named in the indictment, which begins with
different words, and which contains not the precise
words recited in the indictment, but many passages
and pages besides. Mr. H. conceived that the
" Prospect" could not therefore be offered in evi-
dence, unless the indictment had charged the tra-
verser with a false, scandalous and maHcious wri-
ting, intitled, " The Prospect before Us," contain-
ing among other things, the passages which occa-
sioned the prosecution.

Mr. H. said that he had examined many ad-
judged cases, and in every instance the title of the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 419

writing charged to be libellous, was recited, and
called on the Attorney of the United States to pro-
duce a single instance to the contrary. If then the
variable practice was as he stated it to be; if the
ablest lawyers had uniformly adhered to it, the ob-
servation of Coke, (Co. Lyt. 115, b.) that the forms
of pleading are the best evidence of law, seemed
to be conclusive, that the title of the libel ought to
have been stated in the indictment.

Mr. H. said that from about twenty cases which
he had exammed, he would select three, which
seemed best calculated to shew that the description
of the libellous writing, by the title given to it by
the author, was essentially necessary. The first case
was, where the title was very long ; the second
was, where the paper containing the libel had a
number as well as a title ; in which case the num-
ber as well as the title was recited ; and the third
was, where the libel was published in the French
language, in which case the title, though very
lengthy, was recited in French, and then in
English.

Here Judge Chase interrupted Mr. Hay, to
tell him that he was mistaken. I pronounce the
law to be otherwise, said he. I know that cases
can be produced where the title of a libel is recited
in the indictment. I remember, continued he,
with an increased elevation of voice, one case [)ar-
^icularlv. A man was indicted for publishing a libel

420 THE ADMINISTRATION

called " Nun in her smock/' but it was not neces-
sary to mention the title of the libel in that case,
nor is it necessary in any case.

Mr. H. observed that if he could be permitted
to proceed, he would go on to state to the court
the reasons which impressed his mind with a belief
that the omission was fatal, and precluded the pro-
secutor from the right to introduce as evidence
"The Prospect before Us."

The practice was, he said, as he had stated it
to be. It appeared to him, that the reasons which
might be urgedin vindication of the practice, could
not readily be answered.

it is a principle of universal law, said Mr. H.
as well as of common sense and justice, that if a
man's words, spoken or written, are made the
foundation of a charge against him, they are all to
be taken together. If the title of the " Prospect"
had been inserted, and the whole book thus brought
before the jury, the traverser might resort to any
part of it for an explanation of the passages charg-
ed to be libellous. But if passages of this descrip-
tion are taken from a booker writing without nam-
ing or describing it, and charged in the indictment
as constituting a libel, the only questions before the
jury would be 1st. Did the traverser write, print,
orpublish the words charged; and 2d. Are these
words false, scandalous and malicious. It this rea-
soning were correct, the traverser would be exclu-
ded from the benefit held out to him by the prin-

or JOHN ADAMS. 421

ciple which has been just stated, and which was
deemed incontrovertible.

Here the judge again interrupted Mr. IL There
is no doubt, said he, but that the traverser, under
the present indictment, will have the benefit from
which you seem to fear lie is excluded. I say he
will have that benefit... .you know that he will.

Mr. H. said, that he did not know it before;
but as the court meant to allow the traverser the
privilege which he conceived belonged to him, he
would say no more on that point.

But, continued Air. H. another reason presents
itself in vindication of the practice so uniformly
maintained in England, which perhaps may merit
a more serious consideration from the court.

It is doctrine hitherto unquestioned, that in all
criminal prosecutions, the offence shall be descri-
bed with all possible certainty.

In larceny, it is necessary to mention not only
the specific articles alledged to be stolen, but the
name of the person to w^hom they belonged. The
same principle was extended to every description of
criminal prosecutions, and had a very considerable
operation even in questions of a private nature. If
an action of debt were brought upon a bond, the
declaration must describe precisely such a bond as
that adduced in evidence.

Two reasons were furnished by the books why
this precision was deemed necessary : the first was,
that the party accused might know exactly how to

422 THE ADMINISTRATION

defend himself; the second, that he might plead his
conviction or acquittal in bar of a subsequent pro-
secution for the same offence. Hawk. 322.

The first reason seemed to be as consonant to
humanity as to law : and if it was a good reason, it
operated with fatal force against the attempt of the
Attorney of the United States, to produce the " Pros-
pect** as evidence. If the title of the book had
been mentioned in the indictment, Mr. Callender
would have been fully apprised, by the copy with
which he has been furnished, of the crime with
which he was charged. But as it was not men-
tioned, he could not ascertain from the indictment
itself, against which, and against which only, he
was to make his defence, whether the recited pas-
sages were taken from the " Prospect,'' or from
some gazette in which they had been republished,
but in the publication of which he had no concern.
In support of the charges contained in this indict-
ment, facts of a very different nature might be
stated, with a view to be proved : and the traverser
therefore could not know with that certainty with
which accusations ought always to be made, whe-
ther he was to be at the trouble of justifying what
he had said, or whether he could safely rest his de-
fence on the insufficiency of the evidence brought
against him to prove the act of publication only.

The second reason appeared to Mr. H. to be
conclusive. He contended, that one writing a
gainst the President, containing fifty libellous pas-

ey JOHN ADAMS. 425

sages, if published at the same time, was only one
act for which one prosecution only could be main-
tained.

Ifthe present indictment had mentioned the
title of the book now introduced, the decision
about to be pronounced, whatever it might be,
might be pleaded in bar of a subsequent prosecu-
tion for the same, or for any other passages in the
same book. In support of this plea, the traverser
would have nothing to do but to produce the re-
cord. This alone would protect him. But if the
title of the book is not to be recited, the produc-
tion of the record would not be sufficient to sup-
port his plea of " formerly acquitted or formerly
convicted.** In addition to the record, he must
bring forward witnesses to prove that the " Pros-
pect" had been given in evidence against him at
the former trial. Such witnesses, perhaps, might
be procured, but it was not certain ; and when pro-
cured, their evidence might not be sufficiently ex-
plicit to establish the point relied on by the tra-
verser. He did not stand therefore in a state of
security, in which a man ought to be placed who
once answered a charge made against him by his
country, and in which he would be placed if the
doctrine contended for by his counsel were correct.
Here the judge observed to Mr. Hay, in nis
WAY, that it was certain that the traverser might
plead the present prosecution in bar ot any other.
It was clear law, and Mr. H. must know it to be

421' THE ADMINISTRATION

SO. Mr. Hay said that he was not completely un-
derstood. The present prosecution might be plead-
ed in bar of another prosecution for the same offence,
and would, according to his doctrine, appear on
the record 3 but according to the doctrine to which
the court seemed to incline, the evidence of this
fact, resting on memory only, might perish for-
ever.

Here the Attorney for the United States was
about to rise ; but the judge stopped him. Really,
Mr. Attorney, said he, it is not worth your while
to take up the time of the court in making a reply.
There can be no good reason for excluding the book
as evidence. The traverser is charged with having
written, printed or published a certain libellous
writing; all that is to be done on the part of the
United States, is to prove this charge to be true,
and the book called the "Prospect," is good evi-
dence to support it.

This point being disposed of, the Attorney for
the United States rose and coiTimented at great
length on every charge contained in the indict-
ment.

The jury then retired and returned a verdict of
Guilty.

The sentence of the court was^ that James
Thomson Callender be fined two hundred dollars,
and be imprisoned nine months ; and find security
for his good behavior during the same period from
the date of his sentence.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 425

The trials of Cooper and Callender farnibh the
strongest proofs of the partiality which prevailed in
the American courts during the administration of
Mr. Adams. The conduct of Judge Chase to Mr.
Cooper must be reprobated by every lover of jus-
tice and liberty. In Calender's trial, after the ju-
ry delivered their verdict. Chase observed that it
was pleasing to him, because it shewed that the
laws of the United States could be enforced in Vir-
ginia, the principal object of Callender*s prosecu-
tion. In charging the jury, he spoke of Mr. Cal-
lender in the most contemptuous manner : he call-
ed upon their honest indignation : he declared that
he did not think there w^as so bad a man in the Uni-
ted States. This language might have been tole-
rated from the prosecutor, but coming from a judge,
it is censurable in the highest degree.

Before we proceed with an account of the elec-
tions for President in the different States it is pro-
per to give an account of the lives and characters
of the different Candidates. This will constitute
the subject of the next chapter.

Hhh

426 THE ADMINISTRATION

CHAPTER XV.

Lives and Characters of Tho?nas Jefftrson, Aaron
Burr, ajid Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.

Thomas Jefferson was born in the year
1743:, at iSlonticello, in the county of Albemarle,
in Virginia. He was the eldest son of his father,
who was a respectable land holder, and joint com-
missioner appointed with Colonel Fry for settling
and extending the boundary line between Virginia
and North-Carolina, in 1749.

About the age of fourteen he was sent to the
University of William and Mary, in the city of Wil-
iiamsburgh, a seminary, though not equal to the
European schools, has yet produced several cha-
racters that, in classical knowledge and legal abili-
ties, would do honor either to Cambridge or Ox-
ford.

The progress which young Jefferson made in
the different departments of science and literature
was rapid ; and he obtained the degrees of the
College with honor to himself and credit to his in-
structors. At the desire and advice of his relations,
he commenced a course of law under the direction
of George Wythe, now the venerable judge and
sole chancellor of Virginia. Being naturally fond
of philosophic pursuits, and accustomed to acute
discrimination and logical discussion wdth'^his fel-
low students, he greatly facilitated the acquire-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 427

ment of legal knowledge, which he now studied as
a profession.

In J 766 he came to the bar of the Supreme
Court of his native State, and on his first appear-
ance gave indication of talents that would rise to
high eminence. Here he continued to practice
with success and reputation until the commence-
menl of the American Revolution, in 1775, when
he was called forward to support the rights of his
country, and for those important ends which have
been so conspicuously realised in the various ca-
pacities in which he has acted.

Mr. Jefferson is in his person tall and slender,
of a fresh complexion, clear, penetrating eyes, his
hair inclining to red, and of a deportment modest,
affable and engaging. In early youth, the only pe-
riod which fortune seems to have allotted him for a
social intercourse with the world, he was in every
circle its ornament, instructor and pride. A close
application, aided by an uncommon strength of
mind, supplied the want of many European advan-
tages. Without neglecting the particular study
which w^as the primary object of his employment,
Mr. Jefferson found sufficient time to attend to the
polite acquirements. He relieved the tedious fa-
tigue of law by improving the knowledge of Ge-
ometry, Astronomy, and Natural Philosophy which
he had acquired at tlie University ; and the research
of science he occasionally blended with the light-
er and perhaps more agreeable amusements of draw-
ing and music. In the latter art he not only arriv-

428 THE ADMINISTRATION

ed at that degree of mediocrity whicli serves to
soften the passions and refine the tender feelings,
but was considered among amateurs as a consider-
able proficient.

In 1774, when the inhabitants of America
were roused into action by the tyranny and accu-
mulated wrongs of the British government, Mr.
Jefferson published his celebrated pamphlet, " Sum-
mary view of the rights of British America," ad-
dressed to the king, which brought forward against
the author threats of prosecution from the Earl of
Dunmore, then Governor of Virginia. Mr. Jef-
ferson was obnoxious to this nobleman on another
account : Dunmore was, in his own country, con-
sidered as one of the most intemperate and dissolute
young men of his age. The climate of Virginia,
with the unlimited authority of a British Governor,
served to inflame his passions, and heighten his li-
centious habits. His hours, in place of being spent
in redressing the wrongs and listening to the griev-
ances of the Virginia planter?., were devoted to the
gambling table, and the indulging of the sensual
appetites. When the arts of seduction proved in-
effectual the brutal peer even had recourse to vi-
olence. A young lady of the pame of Campbell,
the daughter of a respectable merchant in Rich-
mond, became the victim of his unbounded amours.
Her brother, an officer in the king's service, called
Dunmore to account for his injured sister. The
haughty Governor, in place of giving the satisfac-
tion which justice required, had him arrested and

PF JOHN ADAMS. 429

sent to England, where, by the sentence of a
court-martial, he was deprived of his commission.
A well wrote and accurate statement of this unwar-
rantable outrage appeared soon after in the public
papers of Virginia; the author, I am informed,
was a lawyerof the name of Foster, but the Earl of
Dunmore supposed it, from the ability it displayed,
to have been the production of Mr. Jefferson. His
tlireats, however, produced no other eliect than to
cause Mr. JelTerson publicly to avow himself the
author of the Rights of British America.

About this time he married an amiable woman,
the daughter of Mr. Wayles, an eminent counsellor
in Virginia : that affectionate partner, unfortunate-
ly no longer exists. The death of this lady, in 1780,
devolved on him a more weighty care, the edu-
cation of two lovely daughters, their surviving
issue : these have been reared under his immedi-
ate inspection; and have accompanied his diplo-
matic functions whithersoever they have been di-
rected.

It was not to be expected that a man of sucli
conspicuous qualifications could be suffered long
to remain in the shade of philosophic retirement.
In the year 1775^ he was elected a member of the
Virginia convention, and on the 4th of August, in
the same year, one of the members to r-.^present
that State, then colony of Virginia, in Congress.
In this Legislature, he became a dii)tinguishcd and
useful member, and has left many traces of suffi-

4S0 THE ADMIKISTFAXION

cient importance to display his knowledge of legal
jurisprudence.

In the memorable year of 1776, which separa-
ted the United States from their mother country,
and gave the example of freedom to the monar-
chies of Earope, we find Mr. Jefferson advancing
to a still more dignified station. He was chosen,
along with Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Ro-
ger Sherman and R. R. Livingston, to draw up the
declaration of our independence, an instrument
which will ever be considered as the magna charta
of American liberty. It was from the elegant pen
and enlightened mind of Mr. Jefferson, who was
first named on the committee, that this instrument
proceeded; w^hich, so long as the records of time
shall endure, will perpetuate the fame of its author.
He was also honored with the public confidence,
by being appointed a member of the first Congress,
where he sat two years, supporting a character
highly respectable, and which will stand dignified
in the judgment of our remotest posterity.

In the year 1778, Mr. Jefferson, being then a
member of the Virginia Legislature, presented to
that body the act " to prevent the importation of
slaves,*' which was enacted into a law in the month
of October of the same year ; and was shortly fol-
lowed by another act, " to authorise manumis-
sions,'* being the commencement of a system of
general emancipation, also proposed by him.

The first critical period in Mr. Jefferson's civil
administration was whem he received the appoint-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 431

ment of Governor of Virginia, in the year 177P, in
the room of Patrick Henry, who was the first gov-
ernor under the renovated constitution, and the suc-
cessor of the Earl of Dunmore. Mr. JetTersion con-
tinued in this office until June, 1781.

During these years, Mr. Jefferson had much to
contend with. The State experienced three inva-
sions, and he had not only to combat an open ene-
my in the field, but to encounter the insidious
snares of a secret faction, who assailed his reputa-
tion and stabbed him in the dark. They insinua-
ted that he had abandoned the government of Vir-
ginia to its enemies, and sought personal safety bv
flight to the mountains, and that he likewise had
refused to pay military claims in preference to those
of the civil list.

Against these slanderous falsehoods, I shall
transcribe the arguments of Mr. Jefferson's biof^ra-
pher, in an English publication intitled, " Public
Characters of 1801."

" If the first of these loose inslnuatl.)n> ^s;iv>
this writer) be supposed to apply to the evacuation
of the Virginia metropolis, an American officer, now
present, was with him on the occasion, and contra-
dicts the fact : if to the second visit which Gene-
ral Tarleton did himself the honor of paying to the
deliberating councils of that country, the whole
Legislature must be implicated : Bum ar//u's,.s'iLfnl
leges I The propriety of his pecuniary appropria-
tions are, perhaps, easily to be justified.

432 THE ADMINISTRATION

" In regard to the first point of view, facts au~
thorise the bold assertion, that the government de-
serted Mr. Jefferson, not that Mr. Jefferson desert-
ed the government, on this occasion of unpa-
ralleled risk and difficulty. The gentleman present,
and now ready to testify, was at that period an
officer, in the confidence of the commanding Ge-
neral in that part of the country, and was on this
particular occasion, sent to Mr. Jefferson with dis-
patches of an important nature, (being choicely
mounted, by the GeneraFs particular order, on the
most noted running horse which the whole country
afforded ;) he found Mr. Jefferson in the town of
Manchester, opposite to Richmond, which is the
metropolis spoken of, and then about fourteen miles
from the rear of General Arnold, who was retiring
from his predatory incursion. He learnt from the
few confidential friends who surrounded the gov^-
ernor, that his Excellency had been busily engaged,
even in personal labor, to secure those very arms
in a place of safety which were abandoned by his
citizens to the mercy of the enemy ; while some
indeed, were as industriously employed in circula-
ting falsehoods to his prejudice.

" In the respect of his pecuniary appropriations,
before alluded to, gentlemen of the army seem to
have been a little premature, in imbibing a preju-
dice against a public character, whose office de-
manded of him an independent exercise of his judg-
ment. This might in part, perhaps, proceed from
the imperfect knowledge to which military hfe in

OF JOHN ADAMS. 433

general attains in the affairs of civil government,
and partly from those false suggestions which are
wont to arise from the malice of faction. It is true
that a part of the army were discontented with Mr.
Jefferson, and it is equally so, that their jealousy of
pecuniary partialities was the chief cause ; but it
remains to be determined, whether this was a rea-
sonable dissatisfaction. It was a prevalent com-
plaint, that the civil list was paid while the claims
of the military were unattended to. In canvassing
this murmur, let us take a view of the premises:
Every one know^s the situation of Virginia at that
time; her credit was sunk, her strength exhausted
by the marching and counter-marching of her troops,
invaded by a powerful enemy, and her contingent
fund at a very low ebb. ...certainly the propriety of
supporting her civil government through such dis-
asters, will be viewed as a primary object by all
sound politicians. Without that supreme head, the
very cause which called for a defence would have
been annihilated, and the dissatisfied military would
have been disorganized, and no longer necessary.
With regard to the component individuals who were
included in the civil list, it was necessary to support
them ; for to do this was essential to the existence,
of jurisprudence, and indispensably necessary for
the support of good order in the community. The
people of the metropolis, (Richmond) were nei-
ther willing nor abie to take the whole burden of
government upon their own shoulders ; nor were
they, on any account, bound to submit to it ;

I'll

134 THE ADMINISTRATION

yet the departments of administration must ne-
cessarily reside there, and the inhabitants must
as necessarily be paid for accommodating men
who have sacrificed the convenience of life to
the duties of public service, and were unavoidably
dependent on the national fund. Had the trea-
sury of the State been adequate to the whole de-
mand, it is presumed no man would have felt great-
er pleasure than Mr. Jefferson in the accommoda-
tion of all their wants, for benevolence is a trait in
his constitution which has more than once placed
his private credulity in the hands of the swindler.
It is moreover to be considered, that the civil list
contained but a small number of individuals; the
military roil comprised a very large one. Of two
evils it was certainly proper to choose the least;
besides the military had one resource which was
beyond the immediate power of the civil authority :
their arms and the law^s of war, empowered and
justified them in taking needful supplies, (otherwise
than in waste) from those to whom Providence had
been most bountiful ; for such had been made the
common lot of the war, the whole property of the
people being voluntarily pledged for its defence
at the period of its commencement. ...some of the
military, however, had a different sense of these
matters, and preferred to quarter upon the chief
magistrate, those whom rank and military pride
should have better instructed in the rules of deco-
rum and common civihty."

OF JOHN ADAM5. 4S5

in the year 1781, under llie pressure of public
business and family affliction, Mr. Jefferson pre-
pared his celebrated work, afterward published in
Europe, intltled, ** Notes on Virginia.*'

In the year 1783, Mr. Jefferson was appointed
to a seat in Congress, from whence he was nomina-
ted as ambassador to the court of Spain, but tlie ap-
proach of peace, it is presumed, rendered his voy-
age unnecessary. In the following year, on the 7th
of May, he was nominated by that honorable body
minister plenipotentiary of the United States, to
the court of France, as the successor of the venera-
ble Franklin. From thence he communicated his ne-
gociations concerning the freedom of the tobacco
trade, and the powerful opposition of the farmers-
general, &:c. to Mr. Jay, then our minister offoreign
affairs, in a letter dated 27th of May, 1786: in this
letter he evinces considerable diplomatic talents
and success, having gained the approbation of Mr.
de Vergennes and the acquiescence of Mr. de Ca-
lonne. He has also recommended to the people
of Carolina, an improvement in preparing their
staple commodity, rice, in order to lead the Medi-
terranean market. In another letter to Dr. Stiles,
President of Yale College, dated Paris, September
1st, 1786, he displays a fund of sentiment and in-
formation sufficient to entitle him to the confidence
of his country and the admiration of society.

On the 22d of October, 1786, Mr. de Calonne
announced to Mr. Jefferson, by letter from Fon-
tainbleau, the intention of the kin-j; of France to

436 THE ADMINISTRATION

favor the commerce of the United States as much
as possible 3 to double the number of their free
ports ; to reduce the duties which were prejudicial
to the commerce with America ; that after the ex-
piration of a contract made by the farmers-general
with Mr. Morris, (concerning tobacco) no similar
one should be permitted ; and that during the ex-
istence of the term of Mr. Morris's contract, the
farmers-general should be compelled to purchase
annually about fifteen thousand hogsheads of Ame-
rican tobacco. This regulation of the tobacco
trade, (though not wholly in conformity to the prin-
ciples proposed by Mr. Jefferson in his letter to the
Count de Vergennes) appears to have been the re-
sult of Mr. Jefferson's negociation, which had first
in view to eradicate that monopoly entirely.

In the arguments used by Mr. Jefferson for the
aboHshing of French duties upon the oil trade, he
appears to have carried equal conviction ; for al-
though France could not consent to a total aboli-
tion, she puts the United States on a footing with
the Hanse towns, and Mr. de Calonne assigns the
pre-existing treaties with other powers as a reason
for her doing no more : his most christian miajesty,
moreover, thought fit to abolish the duties of fabri-
cation upon this article.

About the same period, Mr. Jefl^erson, in con-
junction with Franklin, negociated with a minis-
ter from the court of Prussia, then at the Hague,
the treaty known by the name of the " Prussian
Treaty," in which an astonished world has, for

OF JOHN ADAMS. 437

the first time, seen a public avowal, and positive
provision by treaty between two sovereign and in-
dependent nations, for the establishment of those
two great and glorious principles, promotiveof uni-
versal peace and happiness, to wit: 1st. That free
ships shall make free goods ; and 2d. That privateer-
ing in time of ivar he abolished -, principles which it
were to be w^ished could be rendered universal.
Mr. Adams was one of the commissioners for ncgo-
ciating this treaty, and on its completion it was sent
over to London, where Mr. Adams then resided as
minister of the United States, for his signature. It is
greatly to be regretted that Mr. Adams could not
be content to retain to himself a share of the glory
which reflects on the authors of this celebrated
treaty ; but, unhappily for our country, while he
was President of the United States, we have seen
him nominate his son, John Quincy Adams, as
minister to the court of Prussia, for the express
purpose, as declared, of renewing the treaty with
that nation, which having been limited to continue
in force for ten years only, had expired. Accord-
ingly, another treaty has been made by his sun
with Prussia, which has been approved by a ma-
jority of the Senate, and ratified by Mr. Adams ; but
which, instead of renewing and continuing the old
treaty, is in itself a new one, expressly abandoning
and renouncing the two inestimable principles;
J St. That free ships shall ?nake free goods ; 2ind*2(\.
That privateering in time of ivar be abolished ; priii-

438 THE ADMINISTRATION

ciples, which it appears from the correspondence
accompanying the negociation, laid before the Sen-
ate of the United States by the late President, the
wise and enlightened ministers of the Prussian
monarch v/ere brought, with great difficulty and
reluctance, to abandon on the earnest solicitation
and reiterated demand of the American negociator,
under the suggestion that the maritime powers,
pm^ticidarljj Great Britain, would never sanction
or permit them.

In the year 1789, Mr. Jefferson being return-
ed to the United States, and appointed by Presi-
dent Washington Secretary to the department of
State, immediately entered on the arduous duties
of that important station, having previously stipu-
lated with the President, that in consideration of
the many years absence from his family and estate,
he might be permitted, at the expiration of the
constitutional term for which the President was
elected, to retire from the public service.

The first result of the labors of Mr. Jefferson in
the department of State, were exhibited to Con-
gress in the following reports, to wit :

1st. A report on the fisheries of the United
States.

2d. A report on coins, weights and measures.

3d. A report on the waste and unappropriated
lands of the United States.

4th. A report on the privileges and restrictions
on the commerce of the United States in foreign
countries.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 439

Each of these reports displayed the usual accu-
racy, information and intelligence of the writer.

But it was reserved for a more critical and deli-
cate period in the affairs of the United States, that
the pre-eminent talents of the American Secretary
should become most conspicuous, and interestingly
useful to his country. The non-execution of the
treaty of peace with the United States, on the part
of Great Britain ; her detention of our Western
Posts, and the attendant spoliations on our com-
merce, both by Great Britain and France, then at
war with each other, added to the intrigues of the
minister of the latter. Genet, all conduced to a
situation difficult and perplexing. Besides which,
Spain continued to withhold from us the free navi-
gation of the Missisippi, so essential to all wes-
tern America. In this state of things, the just con-
fidence v/hich the discriminating mind of Washing-
ton had reposed in Mr. Jefferson, was amply re-
paid by that promptness, zeal and ability with
which the American Secretary contributed by his
labors to relieve the Executive from embarrass-
ment.

Through a series of masterly aiyl unequalled di-
plomatic correspondence, whicj^ ,e maintained at
the same time with the reflective ministers of
Great Britain and France, namely, Hammond and
Genet, he traversed and rebutted their respective
causes of charge and complaint against the United
States, and having fully proved the various aggres-
sions and infractions of treaty en the part of their

4iO THE ADMINISTRATION"

respectiv^e governments, pointed to the means for
preserving the honor and maintaining the rights of
his own country, whilst alike superior to the in-
trigues of Great Britain or of France, he fully mani-
fested that he held no particular attachment to any
foreign nation, but w^as equally prepared, with the
decision, firmness and intelligence of a true Ame-
rican, to oppose and resist the aggressions of all.
The recal of Genet, and appointment of bis suc-
cessor, with the subsequent proceedings between
the United States and France ; the appointment of
Mr. Jav, his treaty with Great Britain, and the re-
cal of Mr. Hammond, appointment of Mr. Liston,
and subsequent proceedings with Great Britain,
are all well known. In respect to Spain, the labors
of Mr. Jefferson were more immediately effective
and compleat.

Having possessed the commissioners of the Uni-
ted States, then at Madrid, negociating a treaty
with the court of Spain, with the most ample and
pointed instructions, and also of the form and pro-
visions of a treaty predicated on the basis of the free
navigation of the Missisippi, it remained only for
Mr. Thomas Pinckney, then minister from the
United States at London, under special instruction
from the President, and appointed envoy for that
purpose, to repair to Madrid, and seeing the favor-
able moment for effecting it, to accomplish this de-
sirable work.

This was accordingly done with equal prompt-
ness and decision on his part, and jointly to that,

OF JOHN ADAMS. 441

and irhe labors of the American Secretary in the
cabinet, are the United States indebted for the
most h'beral, honorable and beneficial treaty they
ever yet entered into with a foreign nation.

It is the fate of every man whom virtue and
talents have elevated, to excite the envy and ha-
tred of many. Previous to Mr. Jefferson's elec-
tion, a great clamor was raised through the Uni-
ted States respecting debts due from him to British
merchants. This subject, however, when examined,
in place of detracting, will add considerably to
the lustre of his character.

In the year 1774, before a shilling of paper
money had been issued, Mr. Jefferson sold about
five thousand acres of land in Cumberland and
Bedford counties, to pay his proportion of a debt
due from the estate of Mr. Wayles to Farrel and
Jones. He offered the bonds to their agent imme-
diately, who refused to take them. The money
was paid to Mr. Jefferson in 1779 and 1780, and
he carried it to the treasury of Virginia, as the laws
pressed on all to do who owed money to British
subjects, declaring that the public would pay
dollar for dollar. This delusion soon passed
away, and it became evident that the public nei-
ther could, nor ought to pay according to the nom-
inal value. The reader will perceive the loss
which Mr. Jefferson sustained, and that if he had
been disposed to quibble, no event could have af-
forded him a more plausible pretext. But it ap-
pears that Mr. Jefferson considered himself still

Kkk

4^2 THE ADMINISTP.ATION

answerable to Farrel and Jones, and therefore set-
tled with their agent otherwise.

The next debt in succession was one due to
Kippen and company, for whom Mr. Lyle, of Man-
chester, was agent. Mr. Jefferson's conduct in the
settlement of this claim was strictly honorable. As
soon as he returned from his mission to France, he
waited upon Mr. Lyle, and made immediate ar-
rangements for payment, deducting the eight years
war interest.

Respecting the war interest, the following let-
ter from Mr. Jefferson is quite satisfactory. ...it was
produced in court by Jones's agent, and afterwards
published in the Aurora :

*' Farts, January 5, 1787,
'' Sir,
" When I had the pleasure of seeing you in Lon-
don, I mentioned to you that the affairs of Mr.
Wayles's estate were left to be ultimately settled by
Mr. Eppis, the only acting executor ; that I have left
in his hands also, and in those of a Mr. Lewis, the
part of Mr. Wayles's estate which came to me to-
gether with my own ; that they were first to clear
off some debts which had been necessarily con-
tracted during the war, and would after that apply
the whole profits to the payment of my part of
Mr. Wayles's debt to you, and to a debt of mine
to Kippen and company, of Glasgow. Being anx-
ious to begin the payment of these two debts, and
finding that it w^ould be too long postponed if the
residuary ones' were to be paid merely from the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 443

Brinual profits of the estate, a number of slaves have
been sold, and I have lately received informalion
from Messrs. Eppis and Lewis, that the proceeds
of that sale, with the profits of the estate to the
end of 1781, would payoff the whole of the resi-
duary debts. As we are now, therefore, clear of
embarrassments, to pursue our principal object, I
am desirous of arranging with you such just and
practicable conditions, as will ascertain to you the
terms at which you will receive my part of your
debt, and give me the satisfaction of knowing that
you are contented : What the laws of Virginia are
or may be, will in no wise influence my conduct ;
substantial justice is my object, as decided by rea-
son, not by authority or compulsion.

'^ The first question which arises, is as to the
article of interest j for all the time preceding the
war, and all subsequent to it, I think it reasonable
that interest should be paid, but equally unreason-
able during the war. Interest is a compensation
for the use of money ; your money in my hands is in
the form of lands and negroes ; from these, during
the war, no use, no profits could be derived : Tobac-
co is the article they produce, that only can be turn-
ed into money at a foreign market ; but the moment
it went out of our ports for that purpose, it was cap-
tured either by the king's ships or by those of indi-
viduals. The consequence was, that tobacco worth
from 20 to 30 shillings the hundred, sold generally in
Virginia, during the war, for 5 shillings : this price,
it is known, will not maintain the laborer and pa/

444 THE ADMINISTRATION

his taxes ; there was no surplus of profit then to
pay an interest ; in the mean while we stood insu-
rers of the lives of the laborers, and of the ultimate
issue of the war. He who attempted, during the
war, to remit either the principal or interest, must
have expected to remit three times to make one
payment, because it is supposed that two out of
three parts of the shipments were taken. It was
not possible then for the debtor to derive any profit
from the money which might enable him to pay an
interest, nor yet to get rid of the principal by re-
mitting it to his creditors. With respect to credit-
ors in Great Britain, they turned their attention to
privateering and arming the vessels they had before
employed in trading with us ; they captured on the
seas not only the produce of the farms of their
debtors, but of those of the whole State. They
thus paid themselves by capture more than their
annual interest, and we lost more ; some merchants^
indeed, did not engage in privateering ; these lost
their interest ; but zve did not gain it 3 it fell into the
hands of their countrymen. ...it cannot, therefore, be
demanded of us. As between these merchants and
their debtor?, it is the case where a loss being in-
curred, each party may justifiably endeavor to shift
it from himself ; each has an equal right to avoid
it ; one party can never expect the other to yield a
thing to which he has as good a right as the de-
mander. We even think he has a better right than
the demander in the present instance ; this loss has
been occasioned by the fault of the nation which

OF JOilN ADAMS. 443

was creditor ; our right to avoid it then stands on
less exceptionable grounds than theirs. But it
will be said that each party thought the other the
aggressor ; in these disputes there is but one umpire,
and that has decided the question where the world
in general thought the right lay.

" Besides these reasons in favor of the general
mass of debtors, I have somepecuHartomy own case.
In the year 1776, before a shilling of paper money
was issued, I sold lands to the amount of X-4,200
in order to pay these two debts. I offered the
bonds of the purchase to your agent, Mr. Evans,
if he would acquit me and accept of the purchasers
as debtors in my place. They were as sure as my-
self ^ had he done it, these debts being turned
over to you, would have been saved to you by the
treaty of peace ; but he declined it.

'' Great sums of paper money was afterwards
issued ; this depreciated, and payment was made
me in this money, when it was but a shadow. Our
laws do not entitle their fellow citizens to require
repayment in these cases, though the treaty autho-
rises the British creditor to do it. Here then I
lost the principal and interest once. Again,
Lord Cornwallis encamped ten days on an estate of
mine at Elk Island, having his head-quarters in my
house : he burned all the tobacco houses and barns
on the farm ; he burnedailthe inclosures, and wast-
ed the fields in which the crop of that year was
growing, (it was in the month of June ;) he killed
or carried off every living animal, cutting the throats

4i6 THE ADMINISTRATION

of those which were too young for service ; of the
slaves, he carried away 30. The useless and bar-
barous injury he did me in that instance, was more
than would have paid your debt, principal and in-
terest ; thus Host it a second time. Still I will lay
my shoulders to the payment of it a third time ; in
doing this, however^ I think yourself will be of
opinion, I am authorised in justice to clear it of
every article not d-emandable in strict right : of this
nature I conceive interest during the war.

" Another question is, as to the paper money I
deposited in the treasury of Virginia, towards the
discharge of this debt. I before observed, that I
had sold lands to the amount of jC.4-,200 sterling*
before a shilling of paper money was remitted....
with a view to pay this debt, I received this money
in depreciated paper. The State was then calling
on those who owed money to British subjects, to
bring it into the treasury, engaging to pay a like
sum to the creditor at the end of the war. I car-
ried the identical money, therefore, to the treasury*
where it was applied, as all the money of the same
description was, to the support of the w^ar. Sub-
sequent events'have been such, that the State can-
not and ought not to pay the same nominal sum in
gold or silver, w^hich they received in paper, nor
is it certain what they will do.

" My intention being, and having aUvays been,
that whenever the State decides, you shall receive
my part of the debt fully. I am ready to remove
all difficulty arising from this deposit ; to take back

OF JOHN ADAMS. 447

to myself the demand against the State, and to con-
sider the deposit as originally made for myself, and
not for you.

" These two articles of interest and paper mo-
ney being thus settled, I would propose to divide
the clear proceeds of the estate (in which tiiere
are from 80 to a 100 laboring slaves) between your-
self and Kippen and Co. two thirds to you and
one third to them ; and that a crop of this year,
1787, shall constitute the first payment. That crop
youknow, cannot be got to the warehouse complete-
ly till May next year ; and I suppose three months
more will be little enough to send it to Europe, or
to sell it in Virginia and remit the money ; so that it
could not safely answer for placing the proceeds in
your hands till the month of August, and annually
every August till the debt shall be paid. ...it will
always be both my interest and my wish, to get
it to you as much sooner as possible, and prob-
ably a part of it may always be paid some months
sooner.

" If the assigning the profits in general terms may
seem to you too vague, I am willing to (ix the an-
nual payment at a certain sum. ...but that I may not
fall short of my engagement, I shall name it some-
what less than I suppose may be counted on ; I shall
fix your part at four hundred pounds sterling an-
nually ', and as you know our crops of tobacco to be
uncertain, I should reserve a right, if they fall
short one year, to make it up the ensuing one,
without being supposed to have faikd in my en-

44'8 THE ADMINISTRATION

gagement ; but every other year at least, all ar-
rearages shall be paid up.

" My part of this debt of Mr, Wayles's estate be-
ing one third, I should require that in proportion
as I pay my third I shall stand discharged as to the
other two thirds, so that the payment of every one
hundred pounds shall discharge me as to three hun-
dred of the undivided debt. The other gentlemen
having equal means of paying, equal desires and
more skill in affairs, their parts of the debt, there-
fore, are at least as sure as mine, and my great ob-
ject is, in case of any accident to myself, not to
leave my family involved with any matters what-
ever.

^^ I do net know what the balance of this debt is ;
the last account current I saw was before the war,
making the whole balance, principal and interest,
somewhat about nine thousand pounds, and after
this there were upwards of four hundred hogsheads
of tobacco, and some payments in money to be
credited. However, this settlement can admit of
no difficulty, and in the mean time payments may
proceed without affecting the right of either party
to have a just settlement.

" Upon the whole, then, I propose on your part,
you relinquish the claim to interest during the war,
say from the commencement of hostilities, April
19, 1775, to their cessation, April 19, 1784, being
exactly eight years, and that in proportion as I pay
my third I shall be acquitted as to the other two
thirds. On my part, I take on myself the loss of

OF JOHN ADAMS. 449

the paper-money, deposited in the treasury, I agree
to pay interest previous and subsequent to the war,
and oblige myself to remit to you for that and the
principal, four hundred pounds sterling, annually,
until the third of the whole debt shall be fully paid,
and I will begin their payments in August in next
)'ear. If you think proper to accede to these pro-
positions, be so good as to say so at the foot of a
copy of this letter ; on the receipt of that, I will
send an acknowledgment of it, which shall render
this present letter obligatory on me ; in which case
you may count on my faithful execution of this
undertaking.

•' I have the honor to be,
" With great respect. Sir,
" Your most obedient, and
" Most humble servant,
(Signed) " THOMAS JEFFERSON."

The following letter to Air. Mazzei, a resident in
Tuscany, attributed to Mr. Jefferson, has been
handed about, and attempts made to question its
veracity j but as it has never been denied, it maybe
considered as the production of our President, and
it reflects considerable credit on his love of truth
and principles, as well as a writer.

" Our political situation is prodigiously changed
since you left us. ...instead of that noble love of
liberty, and that republican government which
carried us triumphantly through the dangers of the
war, an anglo-monarchico aristocratic party has
arisen. Their avowed object is to impose on us

LU

450 THE ADMlUlSTRATiair

the suhstajKCi as they have already given us the form
of the British government; nevertheless, the princi-
pal body of our citizens remain faithful to republi-
can principles. All our proprietors of lands are
friendly to those principles^ as also the mass of men
of talents. ...we have against us the Executive pow-
er, all the officers of government, all who are seeking
offices, and all timid men who prefer the calm of
despotism, to the tempestuous sea of liberty; the
British merchants, and Americans who trade on
British capitals, the speculators, persons interested
in the bank and public funds.

" I should give you a fever if I should nam«
the apostates who have embraced those heresies....
men who were Solomons in council and Sampsons
in combat, but whose hair has been cut off by the
whore, England.

" They would wrest from us that liberty which
we have obtained by so much labor and peril,
but we shall preserve it. Our mass of weight and
riches is so powerful, that we have nothing to fear
from any attempt against us by force. ...it is suf-
ficient that we guard ourselves, and that we break
the Lilliputian ties by which they have bound us,
in the first slumbers which succeeded our labors ;
It suffices that we arrest the progress of that system
of ingratitude and injustice towards France, from
whom they would alienate us to bring us under
British influence."

This article I shall conclude with the following
extract from a character given of Mr. Jefferson,

OF JOHN ADAPTS. 451

by a celebrated counsellor in the State of New-
York :

'^ There was no character perhaps in America,
more eminently calculated to fill the department of
State, than Mr. Jefferson. Few men who have
travelled at all, have travelled with more advan-
tage ; and had ^ greater capacity of receiving im-
provement from this mode of it, than him. The
genius of each nation, its particular customs and
manners, and the great relative interest which re-
gulated the policy of courts, w^ere subjects with
which he was acquainted ; and eminently fitted
him to fill a department, the peculiar argan of their
communications. Controversy, which so frequently
betrays the fallibility of the understanding, because
it begets intemperance, never makes him a victim
to the designs of his opponent. He listens to his
arguments with scrupulous attention ; draws new
sources of information from conflicting principles ;
and if he is animated at all, it is with the discovery
of a new truth. There are, perhaps, few men bet-
ter calculated always to triumph and always to
leave upon the mind, at least the most favorable
impressions, if not the most decisive conviction.
This is not difficult to account for, when applied
to Mr. Jefferson ; because few men, like him, de-
serve the applieation. He never hazards an opin-
ion without the authority of experience, and the
conviction of reason. Travel and observation have
matured the one, and extensive application and re-
flection have invigorated the other. His principles.

452 THE ADMINISTRATION

therefore, convey the strongest impressions ; which
he inforcesby logical deduction, and mathematical
precisions, drawn from an expanded intellect, that
separates with infinite facility, the purity of truth
from the grossest materials of error.

*' When citizen Genet, the ex-minister of Robes-
perian fanatacism, appeared in America, he at-
temped to impose his new philosophy of light and
liberty upon the government. He had nothing to
boast of, on the score of superior diplomatic skill.
His communications to the Secretary of State were
evidently of the tampering kind. They were im-
pressed with all the marks of that enthusiastic in-
sanity, which regulated the councils of the faction ;
and which were calculated to mistake their object,
by disgusting their intended victims. The mind
of Mr. Jefferson discovered itself in an early period
of his correspondence with the French minister.
The communications of Genet were decorated
with all the flowers of eloquence, without the force
and conviction ofrheiorical energy. Accustomed
to diplomatic calculation, and intimately combining
cause with effect, Mr. Jefferson apprehended the
subject with strength and precision.. ..considered it,
developed it, viewed it on all sides, listened to
every appeal, and attended to every charge ; and
in every communication burst forth with a strength
of refutation that at once detected and embarrass-
ed the disappointed minister of a wily and fanatic
nation.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 453

" It is, in most instances, useless to oppose enthu-
siasm with the deliberate coolness of reason and
argument. They are the antipodes of each other ;
and of that imperious nature which mutually so-
licit triumph and disdain reconciliation. The ty-
ranny of the Robesperian principles were calculated
to enveigle within the vortex of European politics,
the American government and people. The cool-
ness and sagacity of the Secretary of State, com-
posed their defence and protection. The appeal
was mutually made to the government ; and it is
a fortunate circumstance, that there existed this
tribunal to approbate the measures of the Secre-
tary, and to silence forever the declamatory oracle
of an insidious faction. Checked and defeated
on all sides, his doctrine stripped of its visionary
principles, and himself betrayed into the labyrinth
of diplomatic mystery, the ex-divinity shrunk into the
silence of contempt 3 declaring with his last breath,
that Mr. Jeiferson was the only man in America
^^hose talents he highly respected.

" The diplomatic contest, with Genet was not
the only one which drew forth into action the
splendid abilities of Mr. Jefferson. The American
world was, for some time, amused with the com-
munications of the English minister, Hammond....
Thf ir object is too well known to require delinea-
tion. It was a contest between the antiquated
principles of a rotten monarchy, deluded by the
fallacious idea of effecting a triumph, and the new-
ly acquired maxims of the republican phiio^^-

454 THE ADMINISTRATION

The communications of Hammond were stamped
with the original dullness and stupidity of their au-
thor. Incapable of convicting by the energy of
argument, the importance of the minister was main-
tained by the length and number of his letters, and
by that rigid perseverance, which was calculated
to irritate and disgust. Tired with the correspon-
dence, the Secretary of State appears to have col-
lected together the united energies of his mind in
a single letter of considerable length, wherein he
combines with infinite skill, the erudition of the
counsellor, the wisdom of the politician, and the
sagacity of diplomatic ingenuity. No longer delu-
ded by the dreams of triumph, Hammond in a
short time went home, to kiss the aristocratical hand
that made him a slave ; and Mr. Jefferson to see
that repose in retirement, which his laborious at-
tention to the duties of his office seemed to de-
mand.

" Mr. Jefferson appears, from the incomparable
felicity of his temper, to have arrived at the most
elevated height of philosophy. He has not escaped
the misfortune, if it is one, of having enemies to
depreciate his virtues and calumniate his princi-
ples. These virtues have frequently furnished pre-
tences for the bitterest calumny. The equanimity
of his temper, however, never fell a victim to the-
unmanly provocatives, which so often disturb little
minds. His contempt for a just censure, his dig-
nified reserve beneath the insolence of ministerial
loquacity, and his unshaken serenity, whilst the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 455-

whole political world is moving around him, make
a soul capable of holding calamity in defiance....
Viewing mankind as they really are, biassed by
passion, swayed by prejudice, and with ears con-
tinually open in the invocations of individual in-
terest, it stands aloof in the sentiment of his own
exalted mind, and like Jupiter from Olympus, sur-
veys with serenity and silence, the fate of empires.
It is well known, however, that his enemies are
of that obsequious tribe of court parasites, who
move in the inferior circles of respectability, and
feel the influence of talents, which they seek to
decry by the arts of petulence and loquacity. He
has suflicient knowledge of human nature to
know that this is the involuntary tribute of envy ;
and is consoled that it is the medium of the incul-
cation of truth, and is satisfied that he is not con-
scious of deserving reproach, and is silent. Surely
the man who can preserve such an equanimity of
temper, who can maintain the composure of his
mind, and listen to unmerited reproach, without
deserving it ; surely such a man is intitled to the
first place in our esteem. They are attributes which
few men possess, are the productions of the most
difficult of all attainments, the knowledge and es-
teem of ourselves, and flow from an elevated philo-
sophy, that seeks tranquillity in conscious recti-
tude ; which teaches forbearance whilst it refines
our knowledge of human nature, and views the
conflicting passions of mankind, as connected with
the destiny of social life. To descend from tliis

456 THE ADMINISTRATION

dignified sphere of human reason, like the Pagan
Gods from Olympus, to participate in the conflicts
of an inferior order of beings, would be doing vio-
lence to the sanctuary of philosophy. His enemies
may desire it ; and seek an occasion for that tri-
umph which pertinacious mediocrity sometimes
acquires over the sublimity of genius. He feels
the most complete security in the celestial sanctua-
ry of self applause ; in the steady discharge of the
duties committed to his care ; in an inflexibility to
ill and in the obstinacy to do justice. The arts of
malice, and the rude voice of faction assail him in
vain. The senseless clamors of his enemies make
no impression on him. He appears invulnerable to
the shafts of malignity which fall every where a-
round him, blunted by the invincible dignity of his
character, and the respectability of his talents.'*

Aaron Burr, the Vice-President of the United
States, was the only son of President Burr, of New-
Jersey college. President Burr was born in the year
1714, at Fairfield, in Connecticut, in which colony
his forefathers, who were persons of great respect-
ability, had been settled for several preceding gene-
rations. The late Governor Livingston, in speak-
ing of this gentleman, has the following words :
*^ whether we consider him in a private or public
view, he is still equally striking, equally distinguish-
ed, and without exaggerated expression, some-
thing surpassing the ordinary bounds of human na-
ture." He* married Miss Edwards, the daughter
of Dr. Jonathan Edwards, who was afterwards his

OF JOHN ADAMS. 457

successor in Jersey college : by this lady he had
Aaron Burr, and a daughter, who married Judge
Tappen Reeve, of Connecticut.

President Burr died in the year 1757, when his
son Aaron was about three years of age ; the care
of Aaron's education consequently devolved on
Mrs. Burr, and none could have been more fit
for that purpose than this lady. She was, in every
respect, an ornament to her sex, being equally dis-
tinguished for suavity of manners, purity of religion
and brilliancy in literature and science.

At the age of fourteen, Aaron Burr was sent to
the college of Cambridge, where he soon display-
ed that quickness of comprehension, blended with
an ease in expression and gentleness of manners,
though clothed with a prudent reserve, which have
composed the leading features of his character
through life. In the beginning of 1774, when the
standard of liberty was erected in the Eastern
States, Burr, then a youth of eighteen, left his aca-
demic pursuits to share in those laurels which were
afterwards to constitute a new aerain the history of
the world, to teach kings that they had not deri-
ved the prerogative of power from the throne of
heaven, and to disclose to mankind the pleasing
doctrine that they had only one sovereign to obey,
the Creator of the universe.

Aaron Burr, though of a person slender and de-
licate, was not deterred from encountering the
hardships of a winter campaign. Disdaining the
advice and entreaties of his relations when the in-
Mm m

458 THE ADMINISTRATION

terest of his country was at stake, he joined the
ranks under the brave Montgomery, and continu-
ed for several months unknown in the humble but
honorable capacity of a private soldier. His me-
rit soon raised him to the active station of aid-de-
camp to that General, with whom he continued un-
til the unfortunate attack on Quebec, the 31st. of
December, 1775, deprived America of the services
of that illustrious officer.

After the death of General Montgomery, we
find Aaron Burr in the army of General Putnam,
with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In the cam-
paign of 1777, and autumn of that year, Colonel
Burr signalized himself by the capture of a British
piquet without the loss of a single man, although
his party was inferior in number.

As this circumstance is not narrated in any of
the histories of the revolutionary war, the particu-
lars of it cannot be unacceptable to the American
patriot. General Clinton lay across the bridge of
Hackensack with about 4000 British troops ; the
American army was stationed above : one evening
about dark. Colonel Burr marched down with a
company of twenty-four men to reconnoitre the
enemy. At a little distance from the new bridge,
he perceived the glimmering of a light, which pro-
ceeded from the enemy's piquet. ...he immediately
halted, and having ordered a profound silence, he
crossed the road to the opposite side of the way,
and took his quarters under a chesnut tree : leav-
ing his party, he went alone to observe the situation
of the enemy, and got so near them as to obtain their

OF JOHN ADAMS. 459

watch word. He returned a little before the break
of day, and led his men directly between the piquet
and the main body of the British troops ; then di-
viding his small company into four divisions of six
men each, he gave orders for two of them to attack
on the front, one on the right and the other on the left,
with a strict injunction not to discharge a musket.
Having advanced within twenty-five or thirty paces,
he was hailed by the centinel, whom he immedi-
ately shot dead, then charged his enemy with fixed
bayonets, and obliged the whole to surrender, con-
sisting of one officer, a serjeant, a corporal and twen-
ty-seven men.

A circumstance occurred on this occasion, which
will mark the strong enthusiastic zeal that British
soldiers possess for the cause of their sovereign ;
and will even compel a tear of compassion to drop
from the republican patriot.

One of the British soldiers alone attempted to
resist. ...in the brave eflTort he received three bayonet
thrusts, two before and one behind ; the wounds
however were not so mortal as to prevent his en-
deavoring to accompany his fellow-prisoners, but
he had not proceeded more than a quarter of a
mile, when he was obliged to stop. Colonel Burr,
with his usual humanity, went up to him, and thus
addressed him : " My good fellow proceed a little
farther, and we will procure a surgeon to your re-
lief." The veteran replied, (his last words) " Dear
Sir, all the doctors in America can do me no service^
for I am a dying man -, but it grieves me sore to

460 THE ADMINISTRATION

the heart, to think I have served my king upwards
of twenty years, and at length must die with a
charged musquet in my hand -, had I discharged my
piece I should not have regarded my life, but would
have died with satisfaction."

Colonel Burr, soon after this affair, was appoint-
ed to a command at West-Point, where he conti-
nued until the beginning of 1778, when indispo-
sition interrupted, for a few months, his military
career. The first engagement in which he acted
a part, after his recovery, was at the battle of Mon-
mouth ; but by an unlucky arrangement of Gene-
ral Washington, he was placed in a situation w^here
he was exposed to the British artillery, without the
capacity either of saving the men under his com-
mand, or of injuring the enemy.

Towards the fall of this year, he accomplished,
by a dexterous manoeuvre, the destruction of a
block-house in New-Jersey, with a party of only
sixty men, although the same was defended by fifty
British soldiers. This'act ought to be regarded as
an exploit of the first magnitude, when it is remem-
bered that General Wayne, with an army of 2000
Hien, nearly about the same time, made an unsuc-
cessful attack upon another block-house, even in-
ferior in strength.

Soon after this period. Colonel Burr, partly from
the bad state of his health, and other reasons of an
urgent nature, was under the necessity of retiring
from the army, to the infinite regret of all who had

OF JOHN ADAMS. 461

witnessed his bravery, and knew the extent of his
military talents.

Colonel Burr, after his retirement, gave his mind
entirely to literary pursuits ; and in the year 1789,
was appointed Attorney-General for the State of
New- York, which office he discharged with the
greatest zeal and impartiality. In 1791, he was
sent to the Senate of Congress. That the reader
may form some idea of the sentiments which Co-
lonel Burr espoused, while a member of that ho-
norable body, we have subjoined several. of the
most important bills for which he voted :

" That the conducting of the legislative and
judicial powers of the Senate in public, and suffer-
ing an account of their measures and deliberations
to be published in the news-papers, is the best
means of diffusing general information concerning
the principles, motives and conduct of individual
members ; and that by withholding this information,
responsibility becomes unavailing, the influence of
their constituents over one branch of the Legisla-
ture, in a great measure annihilated, and the best
security which experience has devised against the
abuse of power and a mal-admi«istration, aban-
doned.'*

'' That it be a standing rule, that the doors of
the Senate-Chamber remain open whilst the Senate
shall be sitting in a legislative and judicial capaci-
ty, except on such occasions as in their judgment
may require secrecy; and that this rule shall com-

462 THE ADMINISTRATION

mence, and be in force on the first day o-f the next
session of Congress."

" The judicial power of the United States shall
not be construed to extend to any suit in law or
equity, commenced or prosecuted against one
of the United States, by citizens of another State,
or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State."

" That the President of the United States be
requested to lay before the Senate, the correspond-
ence which had passed between the Minister of
the United States at the Republic of France, and
said Republic, and between said Minister and the
office of the Secretary of State."

*' That after the end of the then session of
Congress, and as soon as suitable galleries shall be
provided for the Senate-Chamber : the said galle-
ries shall be permitted to be opened every morning,
so long as the Senate shall be engaged in theirLe-
gislative capacity, unless in such cases as may, in
the opinion of the Senate, require secrecy j after
which the said galleries shall be closed."

*' That every printer of news-papers may send
one paper to each and every other printer of news-
papers within the United States, free of postage,
under such regulations as the Post-masterrgeneral
shall provide."

" That from and after the thirtieth day of
September, 1794, there be levied, collected and
paid upon all sugars which shall be refined within
the United States, a duty of two cents per pound."

'-•F JOHN ADAMS. 463

It is impossible to draw a character of Colonel
Burr in more applicable and expressive terms than
Governor Livingston has done of his father :
*' Though a person of a slender and delicate make,
to encounter fatigue he has a heart of steel ; and
for the dispatch of business, the most amazing ta-
lents joined to a constancy of mind that insure suc-
cess in spite of every obstacle. As long as an
enterprize appears not absolutely impossible, he
knows no discouragement, but, in proportion to
its difficulty, augments his diligence ; and by an
insuperable fortitude, frequently accomplishes what
his friends and acquaintance conceive utterly im-
practicable."

The ancestors of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
were for three generations natives of South-Caro-
lina. His father was Chief Justice of the colony
of Carolina, and a member of the king's council.
Charles Cotesworth was born in the year 1746 ;
he was educated at the University of Oxford, in
England, where he gave early proofs of conspicu-
ous talents. After finishing his classical education,
he commenced and prosecuted the study of the
law at the temple. He then passed a year at the
University of Angers, in France, and made the tour
of Europe before his return to his native State.
The great length of time he had spent in accom-
plishing himself as a scholar and lawyer, at the
first seminaries, enabled him to commence the
practice of law, at the bar of South-Carolina, with
considerable eclat.

461- THE ADMINISTRATION

At the breaking out of hostilities between Ame-
rica and Great Britain, he commanded the first vo-
lunteer uniform corps that was raised in Charleston,
and encouraged the embodying of independent
companies throughout the State : soon after, he
was appointed a Major in the first State regiment,
of which General Gadsden was Colonel Com-
mandant. He was afterwards promoted to the
command of the first regiment. After the defeat
at Fort Moultrie, in 1776, of the British fleet under
Sir Peter Parker, and of the army commanded by
Sir Henry Clinton, the project of making an effect-
ive impression in the south, seemed to have been
aban^doned, and Colonel Pinckney believing that
quarter would not very shortly be the theatre of
active war, solicited General Washington's permis-
sion to leave his regiment, and repair wherever
there should be most service to be seen and per-
formed. He was desired to join the General's
family, and acted for some time as his aid-de-camp.

As soon as it was known that the British had con-
templated a second invasion of the Southern States,
Colonel Pinckney repaired to his command -, head-
ed his regiment in the assault on Savannah, and
was present at most actions which were fought in
Carolina, previous to the fall of Charleston. When
Charleston was a second time besieged. General
Lincoln, the commanding officer, selected Colonel
Pinckney as a fit officer to defend the important
pass of Fort Moultrie. The surrender of Charles-
ton gave him a prisoner to the British, in whose
hands he continued until the peace.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 465

In 179 1-, Colonel Pinckney was appointed com-
mander in chief of the militia of South-Carolina,
which station he held until his memorable embassy
to France : the particulars of that diplomatic expe-
dition have been already narrated. As a soldier.
General Pinckney deserves every encomium of ap-
plause ; but as a political character, ahhough he
does not possess so much integrity as Hamilton,
yet it would be great injustice to place him on the
same scale with Mr. Adams, or even the most virtu-
ous of his adherents. General Pinckney possesses at
least some principles of honor, and a share of judo-.
ment that will always prevent him from coverino- his
country v/ith infamy and disgrace.

CHAPTER XVI.

Aleeting of Congress ....President's Speech. ,..FrencJi
Treaty. ...Proceedings of the House of Represen-
tatives....Anecdotes of Mr. Adams... .Elect ion of
the President and Vice-President. ...Observations
on the Dismission of Pickering and M' Henry....
Conclusion.

On Monday, November the 2'2cl, Mr. Adams
met both Houses of Congress in the Senate cham-
ber, at the capitol, in Washington ; when he de-
livered the following speech :

Nnn

466 THE ADMlJflSTRATION

" Gentlemen of the Senate, and

" Gentlemen of the House of Representatives ^

" Immediately after the adjournment of Con-
gress at their last session in Philadelphia, I gave di-
rections, in compliance whh the laws, for the re-
moval of the public offices, records and property....
these directions have been executed, and the pub-
lic officers have since resided and conducted the
ordinary business of the government in this place.

*' I congratulate the people of the United States
on the assembling of Congress at the permanent
seat of their government; and I congratulate you,
gentlemen, on the prospect of a residence not to be
changed : although there is cause to apprehend
that accommodations are not so complete as might
be wished, yet there is good reason to believe that
this inconvenience w'ill cease with the present ses-
sion.

"It would be unbecoming the representatives of
this nation, to assemble for the first time in this so-
lemn temple, without looking up to the Supreme
Ruler of the Universe, and imploring his blessing.

" May this territory be the residence of virtue
and happiness ! In this city may that piety and vir-
tue, that wisdom and magnanimity, that constancy
and self-government, which adorned the great cha-
racter whose name it bears, be forever held in ve-
neration ! Here, and throughout our country, may
simple manners, pure morals, and true religion flou-
rish forever.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 4G7

" It is with you, gentlemen, to consider whether
the local powers over the district of Columbia,
vested by the constitution in the Congress of the
United States, shall be immediately exercised, if,
in your opinion, this important trust ought now to
be exercised, you cannot fail, while performing it,
to take into view the future probable situation of
the territory for the happiness of which you are
about to provide.

" You will consider it as the capital of a great
nation, advancing, w^ith unexampled rapidity, in
arts, in commerce, in wealth, and in population ;
and possessing within itself those energies and re-
sources which, if not thrown away, or lamentably
misdirected, secure to it a long course of prosperity
and self-government.

*' In compliance with a law of the last session
of Congress, the officers and soldiers of the tempo-
rary army have been discharged. It affords real
pleasure to recollect the honorable testimony they
gave of the patriotic motives which brouglit them
into the service of their country, by the readiness
and regularity with which tliey returned to the
station of private citizens.

" It is, in every point of view, of such primary
importance to carry the laws into prompt and faith-
ful execution, and to render that part of the ad-
ministration of justice, which the constitution and
laws devolve on the Federal Courts, as convenient
to the people as may consist with their present
circumstances, that I cannot omit, once more, to

468 THE ADMINISTRATION

recommend to your serious consideration, the ju-
diciary system of the United States. No subject
is more interesting than this to the pubHc happi-
ness, and to none can those improvements, which
may have been suggested by experience, be more
beneficially applied.

" A treaty of amity and commerce with tlie
king of Prussia has been concluded and ratified.
The ratification has been exchanged, and I have
directed the treaty to be promulgated by procla-
mation.

'* The difiniculties w^hich suspended the execution
of the 6th article of our treaty of amity, com-
merce and navigation with Great Britain, have
not yet been removed. The negociation on this
subject is still depending. As it must be for the
interest and honor of both nations, to adjust this
difference with good faith, I indulge confidently
the expectation that the sincere endeavors of the
government of the United States to bring it to an
amicable termination, will not be disappointed.

" The Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Ple-
nipotentiary from the United States to France, were
received by the First Consul with the respect due
to their characters ; and three persons, with equal
powers, were appointed to treat with them. Al-
though at the date of the last official intelligence
the negociation had not terminated, yet it is to be
hoped, that our efforts to effect an accommodation
will, at lengthy meet with a success proportioned

OF JOHN ADAMS. 4G9

to the sincerity with which they have been so often
repeated.

" While our best endeavors for the preservation
of harmony with all nations will continue to be
used, the experience of the world, and our own
experience, admonish us of tlie insecurity of trust-
ing too confidentially to their success. We cannot,
without committing a dangerous imprudence, aban-
don those measures of self-protection, which are
adopted to our situation, and to which, notwith-
standing our pacific policy, the violence and in-
justice of others, may compel us to resort. AVhile
our vast extent of sea coast, the commercial and
agricultural habits of our people, the great capital
they will continue to trust on the ocean, suggest
the system of defence, which will be most benefi-
cial to ourselves, our distance from Europe, and
our resources for maritime strength, will enable us
to employ it with effect. Seasonable and systema-
tic arrangements, so far as our resources will jus-
tify, for a navy adapted to defensive war, and
W'hich may in case of necessity be quickly brouglit
into use, seem to be as much recommended by a
wise and true oeconomy, as by a just reg;:rd for our
future tranquillity — for the safety of our shores,
and for the protection of our property committed
to the ocean.

" The present navy of the United States, called
suddenly into existence by a great national exigen-
cy, has raised us in our own esteem, and l)y tiie
protection afforded to our commerce, has effected,

470 THE ADMINISTRATION

to the extent of our expectations, the object for
which it was created.

*' In connection with a navy ought to be com-
templated the fortifications of some of our principal
sea-ports and harbors. A variety of considera-
tions, which will readily suggest themselves, urged
an attention to this measure of precaution. To
give security to our principal ports, considerable
sums have already been expended, but the works
remain incomplete. It is for Congress to deter-
mine whether additional appropriations shall be
made, in order to render competent to the intended
purposes, the fortifications which have been com-
menced.

" The manufacture of arms within the United
States still invites the attention of the national Le-
gislature. At a considerable expence to the pub-
lic, this manufactory has been brought to such a
state of maturity as, with continued encourage-
ment, will supercede the necessity of future impor-
tations from foreign countries.

'^ Gentlemen of the House of Representatives,

" I shall direct the estimates of the appropria-
tions necessary for the ensuing year, together with
an account of the public revenue and expenditure
to a like period, to be laid before you.

'' I observe with much satisfaction, that the pro-
duct of the revenue, during the present year, has
been more considerable than during any former
equal period. This result aflR)rds conclusive evi-
dence of the great resources of this country, and

OF JOHN ADAMS. 471

of the wisdom and efficiency of the measures which
have been adopted by Congress for the protection
of commerce and preservation of public credit.
" Gentltmcn of the Senate^ and

^^ Gentlemen of the House of Represeiitatives,

" As one of the grand community of nations,
our attention is irresistibly drawn to the important
scenes which surround us. If they have exhibited
an uncommon portion of calamity, it is the pro-
vince of humanity to deplore, and wisdom to avoid,
the causes which may have produced it. If, turn-
ing our eyes homeward, we find reason to rejoice
at the prospect which presents itself; if we per-
ceive the interior of our country prosperous, free
and happy; if we all enjoy in safety, under the
protection of laws emanating only from the gene-
ral will, the fruits of our own labor, we ought to
fortify and cling to those institutions which have
been the source of much real felicity, and resist,
with unabating perseverance, the progress of those
dangerous innovations which mav diminish their
influence.

" To your patriotism, gentlemen, has been con-
fided the honorable duty of guarding the public in-
terests ; and, while the past is to your country a sure
pledge that it will be faithfully discharged, permit
me to assure you, that your labors to promote the
general happiness will receive from me the most
zealous co-operation.

"JOHN ADAMS.
"United States, \
"November 22, 1800.")

472 THE ADMINISTRATION

The business which principally occupied the
attention of Congress this session, was the French
treaty, which was signed at Paris the 3d of Septem-
ber, 1800. As this treaty, next to the British, is the
most important which the United States ever con-
tracted, we have thought proper to subjoin a copy
of it:

" The first Consul of the French Republic, in
the name of the French people, and the President
of the United States of America, equally animated
with a desire to put an end to the differences which
have arisen between the two States, have respect-
ively nominated their plenipotentiaries, and invest-
ed them with full powers to negociate upon these
differences and terminate them : that is to say, the
first Consul ot the French Republic, in the name of
the French people, has nominated for plenipoten-
tiaries of the said Republic, the citizens Joseph
Buonaparte, ex-ambassador of the French Republic
at Rome, and counsellor of state ; Charles-Pierre
Claret-Fleurieu, member ofthe national institute and
of the ofhce of longitude of France, counsellor of
state, and president of the section of marine ; and
Pierre-Louis Roederer, member ofthe national insti-
tute, counsellor of state and president ofthe interior ^
and the President of the United States of America,
by and with the consent ofthe Senate of said States,
has appointed for their plenipotentiaries, Oliver
Elsworth, chief-justice of the United States, Wil-
liam Richardson Davie, late governor of North-Ca-
rolina, and WiUiam Vans Murray, resident mini-
ster of the United States at the Hague.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 473

'' Who, after having exchanged their hill pow-
ers, and patiently and carefully discussed their re-
spective interests, have agreed to the following arti-
cles :

'' I. There shall be a firm, inviolable and
universal peace, and true and sincere friendship
between the French Republic and the United
States of America, as well between their countries,
territories, cities and places, as between their citi-
zens and inhabitants, without exception of persons
or places.

^ " II. The ministers plenipotentiary of the two
parties, not being empowered at present to agree
relative to the treaty of alliance of the 6th of Feb-
ruary, 1778, to the treaty of friendship and com-
merce of the same date, and to the convention of
the 14th of November, nor to the indemnities mu-
tually due and claimed, the parties shall furthej
negociate upon these points at a convenient time ;
and until they shall be agreed upon these points,
the said treaties and convention shall have no effect,
and the relations of the two nations shall be regu-
lated as follows :

"III. The ships belonging to the State, taken
on cither side, or which may be taken before the
exchange of ratifications, shall be given up.

" IV. The properties captured and not yet de-
finitively condemned, or which may be captured
before the exchange of ratifications, except con-
traband merchandize destined for an enemy's port,

Ooo

474 THE ADMINISTRATION

shall be mutually restored upon the follpwing proofs
of property, viz.

" On the one part and on the other, the proofs of
property, relative to merchant vessels, armed or un-
armed, shall be a passport in the follov^ing form :

" To all those to whom these presents shall
come, be it known, that power and permission has

been given to , master or commander of the

vessel, called the , of the city of , of the

burthen of tons, or thereabouts, now lying in

the port or harbor of , and destined for ,

laden with -, that after his ship has been visited,

and before his departure, he shall make oath before
officers authorised for that purpose, that the said

ship belongs to one or more citizens of- , the

execution of which form shall be annexed to these
presents, in order that he may observe and cause to
be observed by his crew the maritime ordinances
and regulations, and give in a list, signed and attest-
ed, containing the names and surnames, places of
birth and abode, of the persons composing the
crew of his ship, and of all on board her, whom
he shall not receive on board without the know-
ledge and permission of the officers authorised for
that purpose ; and in every port and harbor where
he shall enter with his ship, he shall shew the pre-
sent permission to the proper officers, and make
to them a faithful report of all that has passed du-
ring his said voyage, and carry the colors^ arms,
and Hags of the French Republic, or the United
States, during his said voyage. In testimony of

OF JOHN ADAMS. 473

wh ich we have signed these presents, caused them

to be countersigned by , and thereunto put

the seal of our arms.

" Given at , in the year of our Lord, ."

" And this passport shall be sufficient without
any other document, notwithstanding any other
regulation to the contrary.

*^ It shall not be necessary to renew or revoke
this passport, whatever number of voyages the said
ship shall have made, unless they shall not have
returned home within the space of a year.

"With respect to the cargo, the proofs shall be
certificates, containing an account what place the
ship has left, and where it is going to, so that pro-
hibited and contraband merchandize may be dis-
tinguished by certificates, which certificates shall
have been made by the officers of the place from
whence the ship shall have set out, agreeable to the
accustomed forms of the country. And if these
passports or certificates, or both, shall have been
destroyed by accident, or taken away by force, the
want of them shall be supplied by every other proof
of property, admissible according to the general
usage of nations.

" For other ships, besides merchant ships, the
proof shall be the commissions they bear. This
article shall take effect from the date of the signa-
ture of the present convention ; and if by the date
of the said signature, property shall have been con-
demned contrary to the spirit of the said conven-
tion, and previous^to the knowledge of this stipu-

476 THE ADMINISTRATION

latlon, the property so condemned shall be restored
or paid for.

" V. The debts contracted by either of the two
nations towards the individuals of each, shall be
acquitted, or the payment shall be in course, as if
there had been no misunderstanding between the
two States. ...but this clause shall not extend to in-
demnities claimed for captures or condemnations.
" VI. The trade between the two parties shall
be free. ...the ships of the two nations, and the pri-
vateers as well as their prizes, shall be treated in
their respective ports as the most favored nation,
and in general the two parties shall enjoy in each
other's, with respect to commerce and navigation,
the same privileges as the most favored nations.

*^Vll. The citizens and inhabitants of the Uni-
ted States may dispose by will, donations, or other-
wise, of their goods, moveable or immoveable pro-
perty, possessed in the European territory of the
French Republic. ...and the citizens of the French
Republic shall have the same power with regard to
the goods, moveable and immoveable property,
possessed in the territory of the United States, in
favor of such persons as they shall think proper.
The citizens and inhabitants of one of the two
States, who shall be heirs of the goods, moveable
and immoveable property, situate in the other, may
succeed ab intestat, without there being any ne-
cessity for letters of neutrality, and without the
effect of this stipulation being contested or im-
peached, under any pretence whatever. ...and the

OF JOHN ADAMS. 477

said heirs, whether by private right or ab infe.<^f.!\
shall be exempt from all right whatever of anvf::-,
in either of the two nations. It is agreed, t!i:.i l.is
article shall not derogate in any manner frji.: tli'^
laws which are now in force, in either of the two
nations, or which may be promulgated hereafter,
against emigration. And also, that in case the laws
of the two States shall limit to foreigners the ex-
ercise of the right of immoveable property, such
immoveable property may be sold, or otherwise
disposed in favor of the inhabitants or citizens of
the country where they shall be situate ; and it
shall be open to the other nation to establish similar
laws.

*^ Vlll. To favor the commerce of both na-
tions, it is agreed, that if war (which God forbid)
should breakout between the two nations, the mer-
chants and other citizens, or respective inhabitants,
shall be allowed on both sides six months after the
declaration of war, during which period they shall
have time to retire with their effects and moveables,
which they may carry away or sell, as they think
])roper, without the least impeachment; their ef-
fects, and still less their persons, shall not, during
the period of six months, be seized. On the con-
trary, they shall have passports which sliall be valid
for the time necessary to enable them to rerurn
home, and those pass])orts shall be given for them-
selves, as well as for their ships and effects which
they shall desire to take or send away. These pass-
ports shall serve as a protection against all msults

478 THE ADMINISTRATION

and all captures on the part of privateers, as well
with regard to themselves as their effects ; and if
within the term above-mentioned, there shall have
been committed by one of the parties, its citizens
or inhabitants, any wrong towards their person or
their property, they shall have complete satisfaction.

'' IX. The debts due by individuals of one of
the two nations, to the individuals of the other,
shall not, in case of war or national dispute, be se-
questered or confiscated, no more than the claims
or funds which shall be found in the public funds,
or in the public or private banks.

*'^X. The two contracting parties may nomi-
nate for the protection of trade, commercial agents,
who shall reside in France and in the United States-
Each of the parties may except such place as he
shall judge proper, w^here the residence shall be
fixed. Before any agent can exercise his functions,
he must be accepted according to the received forms
of the party to which he is sent, and when he shall
be received and provided with his exequator, he shall
enjoy the rights and prerogatives which are en-
joyed by similar agents of the most favored nations.

''XI. The citizens of the French Republic
shall not pay, in any ports, harbors, roads, coun-
tries, islands, cities, and places of the United States,
other or greater duties or imposts, of vVhatever na-
ture soever they may be, and whatever names they
may have, than those which tbe most favored na-
tions are or shall be bound to pay ; and they shall
enjoy all liberties, rights, privileges, iiiimunities and

OF JOHN ADAMS. 479

exemptions, relating to trade, navigation and com-
merce, whether in passing from one port of the said
States to another, or whether in going there or re-
turning from some part to another part of the world,
that the said nations enjoy, or shall enjoy, and reci-
procally the citizens of the United States shall enjoy
in the territory of the French Republic, in Europe,
the same privileges and immunities, as well for
their goods as their persons, as for what concerns
trade, navigation and commerce.

" XII. The citizens of tlie two nations may
conduct their vessels and their merchandizes, (al-
ways excepting such as arc contraband) from any
port to another belonging to theenemy of the other
nation. They may navigate, with full liberty and
security, with their ships and merchandizes, in the
countries, ports and places of the enemies of the
two parties, or of the one or the other party, with-
out obstacles or interruption, and not only pass di-
rectly from the places and ports of the enemy above-
mentioned to neutral ports and places, but trom
every place belonging to an enemy, whether it be
or be not subject to the same jurisdiction, unless
those places or ports shall be really blockaded,
besieged or invested.

" And in case, as it often happens, when vessels
shall be sailing for places or ports belonging to an
enemy, ignorant that they are blockaded, besieged
or invested, it is agreed that every ship which shall
be found under such a predicament, shall be turn-
ed from that place or port without any part of his

480 THE ADMINISTRATION

cargo being retained or confiscated, (unless It shall
be contraband, or it shall be proved that the said
ship, after having been informed of the blockade
or investiture, attempted to enter the same port)
but it shall be allowed to go to any other port or
place it shall think proper. No ship of either na-
tion, entered into a port or place before it shall have
been really blockaded, besieged or invested by the
other, shall be prevented from going out w^ith its
cargo ; if it shall be there when the said place shall
surrender, the ship shall not be confiscated, but sent
away to the proprietors.

" XIII. To regulate what shall be understood
by contraband warlike stores, under this denomina-
tion shall be comprised powder, saltpetre, petards,
matches, balls, bullets, bombs, grenades, carcasses,
pikes, halberts, swords, belts, pistols, scabbards,
saddles, cannons, mortars, with their carriages, and
generally all arms and ammunition ofwar and uten-
sils for the use of troops. All the above articles,
whenever they shall be destined for an enemy^s port,
are declared contraband, and justly subject to con-
fiscation ; but the ship in which they shall be laden,
as well as the rest of the cargo, shall be Qo'nsidered
as free, and shall in no manner be vitiated by the
contraband merchandize, whether they belong to
the same or different proprietors.

" XIV. It is stipulated by the present treaty,
that the free ships shall equally insure the liberty of
merchandize, and that all things shall be deemed
free which are found on board ships belonging to

OF JOHN ADAMS. 481

the citizens of one of the contracting parlies, even
though the same, or part of it, shall belong to the
enemies of one of the two ; provided, nevertheless,
that contraband goods are always excepted. It is
likewise agreed, that this same hberty shall extend
to persons who may be on board the free ships,
though they should be enemies of the two con-
tracting parties, and they shall not be taken from
the said free ships unless they are in a military ca-
pacity, and actually in the service of the enemy.

"XV. It is on the contrary agreed, tliat all pro-
perty which shall be put, by the respective citizens,
on board ships belonging to an enemy of either
party, or their subjects, shall be confiscated without
distinction of merchandize, prohibited or not pro-
hibited, so and in like manner as if it belonged to
an enemy, with the exception always of property
and effects which shall have been put on board the
said ships before the declaration of war, or even
after the said declaration, if at tiie time of lading
the party were ignorant of it ; so that the merchan-
dizes of citizens of the two parties, whether they
be in the number of contraband or not, which, a^
has been already said, shall have been put on board
a ship belonging to an enemy before the war, or
even after the said declaration of war, in ignorance
of it, shall not be in any manner subject to confis-
cation, but shall be faithfully and truly given up
without delay, to the owners claimiig them: provi-
ded, nevertheless, that they shall not be permitted
to carry into the enemies ports, merchandize which

ppp

482 THE ADMINISTRATION

shall be contraband. The two contracting powers
agree, that after a term of two months has passed
from the declaration, their respective citizens, in
whatever part of the world they maybe, shall beat
liberty to plead the ignorance mentioned in this
article.

" XVI. Merchant vessels belonging to citizens
of either of the contracting powers, when they shall
have a mind to pass to the port of an enemy of the
one or the other, and that their voyage as well as
the nature of their cargo shall afford just cause of
suspicion, the said ship shall be obliged to exhibit
at high sea, as well as in ports and roads, not only
their passports, but further their certificates, prov-
ing that these goods are not of the class of contra-
band specified in the 13th article of the present con-
vention.

" XVII. And in order to prevent captures on
frivolous suspicions, and the damage thence result-
ing, it is agreed that when one of the two powers
shall be at war, and the other neutral, the vessels
of the neutral party shall be provided with pass-
ports similar to those specified in the 14th article,
so that it may thence appear that the parties be-
long to a neutral power. These passports shall
be valid for any number of voyages whatever ; but
they shall be renewed every year, if the ship re-
turns home within the space of a year. If these
ships are laden, they shall be provided not only with
the passports above-mentioned, but also with cer-
tificates of the description of those mentioned in the

OF JOHK ADAMS. 483

same article, that it may be known whether they
have on board any contraband goods. No other
papers shall be required, all usage and regulations
to the contrary notwithstanding : and if it should
appear from these certificates, that there is not con-
traband merchandize on board, the said ships shall
be left to pursue their destination. If, on the con-
trary, it should appear from these certificates, that
the said ships have contraband merchandize on
board, and the commander offers to deliver them
up, the offer shall be accepted, and the ship left at
liberty to prosecute her voyage, unless the quantity
of contraband ^oods should be too great to admit of
being taken on board of the ship of war or cruizers i
in this case, the ships shall be carried into port for
the purpose of delivering the said goods.

" Should a ship be found with the passports or
the certificates above required, the business shall be
examined by competent judges or tribunals ; and
if it should appear from other documents or proofs
admissible by the laws of nations, that the ship be-
longs to citizens of the neutral power, it shall not
be condemned, and it shall be set at liberty with its
cargo, (contraband goods excepted) and shall have
leave to prosecute its voyage.

" Should the captain named in the passport
happen to die or be removed, and another shall have
been appointed in his place, the ship and cargo shall
be nevertheless secure, and the passport shall re-
main in full force.

484 THE ADMINISTRATION

** XVIII. If the vessels belonging to citizens of
the one nation or the other shall be met along the
qoast, or on the high seas, by any ship of war or
cruizer belonging to the other, to prevent all disor-
der, the said ships or cruizers shall keep beyond the
reach of cannon "^hct, and shall send their boat on
board the merdhaftt vessel so met v^ith. They shall
not be allowed to send on board more than two or
three men to demand from the master or captain
of the ship the exhibition of his passport concerning
the property of said ship, executed agreeable to the
form prescribed in the 14th article, as also the cer-
tificates above-mentioned, relative to the cargo. It
is expressly agreed, that the neutral captain shall not
be obliged to go on board the visiting ship for the
purpose of there shewing the papers demanded, or
for any other information whatever.

*'XIX. Itis expressly agreed by the parties, that
the above stipulations relative to the conduct to be
observed at sea, by the cruizers ofthe belligerent par-
ty towards the vessels of the neutral party, shall apply
only to ships sailing without convoy.... and incases
when the said ships shall be convoyed, the inten-
tion of the parties being to observe all the respect
due to the protection of the flag hoisted on board
the ships of the State, no visit shall be made. But
the verbal declaration of the conlmander of the
escort, that the ships under his convoy belong to
the nation whose flag he carries, and they have not
anything contraband on board, shall be taken by
the respective cruizers as amply sufficient. The

OF JOHN ADAMS. 485

two parties bind themselves reciprocally, not to ad-
mit under protection of their convoys, any vessels
carrying contraband merchandize destined for an
enemy,

" XX. In case when the ships shall be taken or
stopped, underalledged grounds of theircarrying any
contraband articles to the enemy, the captors shall
give a receipt of the ship's papers which he shall
detain, which receipt shall be subjoined to a decla-
ratory list of the said papers. He shall not be per-
mitted to force open the hatches, costers, chests,
drawers, bales, &c. found on board ships, nor to
carry off the smallest article of the effects, before
the cargo has been disembarked, in presence of
the officers competent to make an inventory of the
said effects. They cannot in any manner be sold,
exchanged, or alienated, unless, after a legal pro-
cess, the competent judge or judges have passed
upon the said effects, a sentence of confiscation,
(excepting always the ship and the other objects
that it contains.)

" XXI. In order that the vessel and the car-
go may be watched with care, and in order to pre-
vent mistakes, it is decreed, the master, captain, or
supercargo of the captured ship cannot be taken
from on board, either while the ship is at sea, after
being taken, during the proceedings against it, its
cargo, or any thing relative to it.

" In case of the ship belonging to either party
being taken, seized and retained for judgment, its
officers, passengers, and crews shall be treated

486 THE ADMINISTRATION

with humanity. ...they- cannot be imprisoned, nor
deprived of their clothes nor pocket money, not ex-
ceeding for the captain, supercargo, and second,
five hundred dollars each, and for the sailors and
passengers, one hundred dollars each.

" XXII. It is moreover agreed on, that in every
case the tribunals appointed in prize causes in the
countries whither the prizes shall be taken, shall
alone be compete^it to try them; and every judg-
ment which the tribunal of either party pronounces
agaiipst a ship, or merchandize or property, reclaim-
ed by the citizens of the other party, the sentence
or decree shall make mention of the reasons or
motives which have determined this judgment, of
which an authentic copy, as well as of all the pro-
ceedings relative to it, shall, on their requisition, be
delivered without delay to the captain or agent of
the said ship, after paying the expences.

'' XXIII. And finally, in order more efl^cctu-
ally to provide for the respective security of the ci-
tizens of the two contracting parties, and to pre-
vent the injuries to be feared from ships of war, or
privateers of either party, all the commanders of
ships of war or privateers, and all the citizens of
both parties, shall refrain from all violence against
one another, and from every personal insult. If they
act in a contrary manner, they shall be punished,
and bound over in their persons and properties to
give satisfaction and reparation for the damage,
with interest, of whatever kind the said damage
maybe.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 48T

" To this effect all the captains of privateers,
before receiving their commissions, shall become
bound before a competent judge, to give security
by two responsible citizens at least, who shall have
no interest in the said privateer, and whom each,
as well as the captain, shall engage individually for
the sum of 7000 dollars, or 36,820 francs ; if the
said vessels carry more than 150 sailors or soldiers,
for the sum of 15000 dollars, 73^670 francs, which
shall serve to repair the damage that the said priva-
teers,their officers or crews,or any of them, shall have
committed during their cruize contrary to the dis-
position of the present convention, or to the laws and
instructions which ought to be the rule of their con-
duct ; besides this, the said commission shall be re-
voked and annulled in every case where an ag-
gression has been committed.

*' XXIV. When the ships of war of the two
contracting parties, or those which their citizens
shall have armed, shall be admitted with their pri-
zes into the ports of either of the two parties, the
said public or private vessels, as well as their pri-
zes, shall not be obliged to pay any duties, either
to the officers of the place, or to the judges, or to
any others. The said prizes entering in the har-
bors or ports of one of the two parties, shall not
be arrested or seized, and the officers of the place
shall not take cognizance of the validity of the said
prizes, which are to be suffered to goout, and be con-
ducted with full freedom and liberty to their ports,
by the commissions which the captains of the said

488 THE ADMINISTRATION

vessels shall be obliged to shew. It is always under-
stood, that the stipulations of this article shall not
extend beyond the privilege of the most favored
nation.

" XXV. All foreign privateers having commis-
sions from a State or Prince, at war with the one or
the other nation, cannot arm their vessels in the ports
of either nation, or dispose of the prizes there, or
in any manner exchange them. They shall not be
allowed to buy provisions further than the necessary
quantity to gain the nearest port of the State or
Prince from whom they shall have received their
commissions.

" XXVI. It is further agreed, that neither of
the two contracting parties shall receive pirates in
its ports, roads or cities, and shall not permit any
of its inhabitants to receive, protect, support or
conceal them in any manner, but shall deliver up
to due punishment such of its inhabitants as shall
be guilty of the like acts or crimes ; the ships of
those pirates, as well as their effects and merchan-
dize, shall be seized, wherever they shall be disco-
vered, and restored to their proprietors, agents or
factors, duly authorized by them, after having prov-
ed their right before judges competent to decide
respecting the property.

" If the said effects have passed by sale into
other hands and the purchasers were or might be
informed, or have suspected that the said effects
were carried away by pirates, they shall be equally
restored.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 489

•^XXVIL Neither of the two nations shall in-
terfere in the fisheries of the other upon its coasts,
or disturb it in the exercise of the rights which it
now has or may acquire on the coasts of Newfound-
land, in the Gulph of St. Lawrence, or elsewhere on
the coast of America, or in the North of the United
States ; but the whale and seal fishery shall be free
for the two nations in all parts of the world.

" The convention shall be ratified on both sides
in due form, and the ratification exchanged in the
space of six months, or sooner if it be possible. In
faith whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have
signed the above articles, as well in the French as
in the English language, and have placed their
seals, declaring, nevertheless, that the signature in
two languages shall not be cited as an example,
and shall not prejudice either of the two parties.

" Done at Paris the 8th day of V^endemaire, the
9th year of the French Republic, and the 3d day of
September, 1800.

(Signed) '' JOSEPH BUONAPARTE,
" C. P. FLURIEU,
'' RCEDERER,
" OLIVER ELSWORTH,
*' W. R. DAVIE,
" W. V. xMURRAY.
" An exact copy,

"C. M. TALLEYRAND"
The above treaty was canvassed in the Senate
on the 8th of January, and agreed to, excepting
the 2d and 3d articles, which were rejected. The

Qqq

490 THE ADMINISTRATION

rejection of these articles on the part of America,
was both imprudent and impolitic ; for by the re-
jection of the 2d article, the very intention and
design upon which negociation was commenced,
w^as both opposed and defeated. Indemnities were
not only virtually relinquished, but the proposal for
appointing a convenient time to negociate upon'
them, was rejected. The rejection of the 3d ar-
ticle necessarily followed that of the former, and
this article seems to have been the true pretext for
rejecting the preceding.. ..but the obvious inten-
tion, in rejecting these articles,can only be traced to
one source : the motives which actuated the desire
for a w^ar, actuated also the opposition to negoci-
ation ; for the same men w^ho opposed the mission
to France, opposed also the adjustment of differ-
ences upon principles of equity.

Mr. Bingham proposed the 19th article to be
struck out, but his motion was negatived by a
majority of 15.

The mode of proceeding in the election of Pre-
sident, in the event of the President and Vice-
President's votes being equal, was brought before
the House of Representatives, on the 9th of Fe-
bruary. Messrs. Rutledge, Nicholas, Gris wold, Ma-
con, Bayard, Tahaferro, Foster, Claiborne, Otis,
Davis, Morris, Champlin, Baer, Cooper, Linn and
Woods, who were appointed the committee to
arrange this business, presented the following re-
solutions, which were accepted of:

" 1st. In the event of its appearing, upon the
counting and ascertaining of the votes given for

OF JOHN ADAMS. 491

President and Vice-President, according to the
mode prescribed by the constitution, that no person
has a constitutional majority, and the same shall
have been duly declared and entered on the jour-
nals of this house, the Speaker, accompanied by the
members of the house, shall return to their chamber.
" 2d. Scats shall be provided in this house for
the President and members of the Senate ; and no-
tification of the same shall be made to the Senate.

" 3d. The house on their return from the Se-
nate chamber, it being ascertained that the consti-
tutional number of States are present, shall imme-
diately proceed to choose one of the persons from
whom the choice is to be made for President ; and
in case upon the first ballot there shall not appear
to be a majority ofthe States in favor of one of them,
the house shall continue to ballot for a President,
without interruption by other business, until it
shall appear that a President is duly chosen.

"4th. After commencing the balloting for
President, the house shall not adjourn until a
choice be made.

"5th. The doors of the house' shall be closed
during the balloting, except against the officers ot
the house.

" 6th. In balloting, the following mode shall
be observed, to wit : The Representatives of the
respective States shall be so seated, that the
delegation of each State shall be together. The
Representatives of each State shall, in the first in-
stance, ballot «mong themselves, in order to as-

492 THE ADMINISTRATION

certain the vote of that State ; and it shall be allow-
ed, where deemed necessary by the delegation, to
name one or more persons of the Representation^ to
be tellers of the ballots. After the vote of each
State is ascertained, duplicates thereof shall be
made ; and in case the vote of the State be for one
person, then the name of that person shall be writ-
ten on'^each of- the duplicates ; and in case the bal-
lots of the State be equally divided, then the word
^^ divided'' shall be written on each duplicate, and
the said duplicates shall be deposited in manner
hereafter prescribed, in boxes to be provided. That
for the conveniently taking the ballots of the several
representatives of the respective States, there be
sixteen ballot boxes provided for the purpose of
receiving the votes of the States. ...after the delega-
tion of each State shall have ascertained the vote of
the State, the serjeant at arms shall carry to the re-
spective delegations the two ballot boxes, and the
delegation of each State, in the presence and subject
to the examination of all the members of the dele-
gation, shall then deposit a duplicate of the vote of
the State in each ballot box -, and where there is
more than one representative of a State, the dupli-
cates shall not both be deposited by the same per-
son. When the votes of the States are all thus ta-
ken in, the serjeant at arms shall carry one of the
general ballot boxes to one table, and the others to
a second and separate table. Sixteen members^
shall be appointed as tellers of the ballots ; one of
whom shall be taken from each State, and be nomi-

OF JOHN ADAMS. 493

nated by the delegation of the State from which he
was taken. The said tellers shall be divided into
two equal sets according to such agreement as shall
be made among themselves ; and one of the said
sets of tellers shall proceed to count the votes in one
of the said boxes ; and the other set the votes in the
other box. ...and in the event of no appointment of
tellers by any delegation, the Speaker shall in such
case appoint. When the votes of the States are count-
ed by the respective sets of tellers, the result shall
be reported to the house ; and if the reports agree,
the same shall be accepted as the true votes of the
States ; but if the reports disagree, the States shall
immediately proceed to a new ballot in manner
aforesaid.

''7th. If either of the persons voted for shall
have a majority of the votes ot all the States, the
Speaker shall declare the same ; and official notice
thereof shall be immediately given to the President
of the United States and to the Senate.

" 8th. All questions which shall arise after the
balloting commences, and which shall require the
decision of the house, shall be decided without
debate." -#^

On Wednesday the 11th of February, accord-
ing to the rules of proceeding established by the
house, they proceeded to the Senate Chamber,
where (Mr. Nicholas and Mr. Rutledgc, the tellers
on the part of the house, and Mr, Wells on the
part of the Senate) the votes were counted and the
result declared by the Vice-President to be,

494 ' THE ADMINISTRATION

For Thomas Jefferson, 73
Aaron Burr, 73

John Adams, 65

C. C. Pinckney, 64

John Jay, 1

The following table represents the return of
votes from the different States :

Return of Votes for President and Vice-Presi-
dent of the United States.

Jefferson. Burr, Adams. Pinck* No. Votes.

N. Hampshire, 0

0

6

6

6

Vermont, 0

0

4

4

4

Massachusetts, 0

0

16

16

16

Rhode- Island, 0

d

4

3

4

Connecticut, 0

0

9

9

9

New-York, 12

12

0

0

12

New-Jersey, 0

0

7

7

7

Pennsylvania, 8

8

7

7

15

Delaware, 0

Q

3

3

3

Maryland, 5

5

5

5

10

Virginia, 2 1

21

0

0

21

N. Carolina, B

8

4

4

12

S. Carolina, 8

8

0

0

8

Georgia, 4

4

0

0

4

Tennessee, 3

3

0

0

3

Kentucky, 4

4

0

0

4

Total, 73 73 65 64
Rhode-Island was the State which gave the
single vote for Mr. Jay.

©F JOHN ADAMS. 4()»)

The tellers declared there was some informalitv
in the votes of Georgia, but believing them tu be
true votes, reported them as such.

The Vice-President then, in pursuance of the
duty enjoined upon him, declared, that Thomas
Jefferson and Aaron Burr, being equal in the num-
ber of votes, it remained for the House of Rcpresen -
tatives to determine the choice.

The two houses then separated, and the House
of Representatives returned to their chamber, where
seats had been previously prepared for the mem-
bers of the Senate. ...a call of the members of the
house, arranged according to States, was then made ;
upon which it appeared that every member was
present, except General Sumpter, who was unwell
and unable to attend... .Mr. Nicholson, of Maryland,
was also unwell, but attended, and had a bed pre-
pared for him in one of the committee rooms, to
which place the ballot box was carried to him, by
the tellers appointed on the part of the State.

The first ballot was eight States for Mr. Jefferson,
six for Mr. Burr, and two divided ; v^hich result con-
tinued to be the same after balloting thirty-five times.
The thirty-sixth ballot determined the question ;
and rescued America from the hands of an admin-
istration, whose crimes will be long felt and ever
remembered.

This important decision took place at twelve
o'clock on the 17th of February.. ..there appeared
for Mr. Jefferson ten States, for Mr. Burr four
States, and the remaining two were blank ballots.

496 THE ADMINISTRATION

The States which voted for Mr. Jefferson were,
Georgia, North-Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vir-
ginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New-Jersey, New-
York and Vermont. The States for Mr. Burr were,
New-Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and
Rhode-Island. The blank States were Delaware
and South-Carolina.

Such was the result of the most important elec-
tion which America had yet witnessed. The con-
duct of the federalists on this occasion, must be con-
sidered by impartial men of every party, to have
been the most disgraceful that could have been
adopted ; for when disappointed by the voice of the
people of having Mr. Adams returned as President,
they used every possible means to throw their coun-
try into confusion.. ..to effect which, they voted for
Mr. Burr, in hopes that by this measure neither he
or Mr. Jefferson would be elected, and that con-
sequently the constitution would be dissolved.

That Mr. Burr had neither any intention or
desire to be elected President, is evident from the
following extract of a letter to General Smith. ...the
sentiments of which do Mr. Burr the greatest credit :

" It is highly improbable that I shall have an
equal number of votes with Mr. Jefferson : but if
such should be the result, every man who knows
me, ought to know, that I would utterly disclaim
all competition. Be assured that the federal party
can entertain no wish for such an exchange.

*'As to my friends, they would dishonor my
views and insult my feelings by a suspicion that I

OF JOHN ADAMS. 497

would submit to be instrumental in counteracting
the wishes and expectations of the United States :
and I now constitute you my proxy to declare
these sentiments if the occasion shall require."

In approaching towards the close of federalism,
the number of facts which display the profligacy
and corruption of the late administration, are so
many, that I have felt at a loss how to select or
how to conclude the few remaining pages of this
volume, in which I intended to have comprised the
principal transactions that characterised the reign
of Mr. Adams. Had they been of a favorable na-
ture either to virtue or humanity, I certainly would
have deemed it incumbent upon me rather to have
sported with the patience of the reader, by extend*
ing the limits of the work, than to have omitted
them ; but viewing only an ocean of folly and vice,
or, if I may be allowed the expression, a pandimo-
nian ot pohtical baseness and intrigue, the sooner
I withdraw from the painful scene, I trust will be
more acceptable both to the liberal patriot and the
less candid monarchist.

Committing the fires at Washington to the
charge of some future historian, who may have it
more in his power to expose to the public eye
those Cataline conflagrations, I shall only glance at
such circumstances as appear most important in
the pubhc and private history of Mr. Adams.

The dismissal of Timothy Pickering and James
M^Henr}% the former from the office of Secretarv
of State, and the latter from that of Secretary <^f:

Rrr

498 THE ADMINISTRATION

War, with the appointment of General Marshall
and Samuel Dexter to their places, have been ge-
nerally supposed, and not without reason, to have
proceeded from the political schism which took
place at Trenton ; but the original quarrel between
Mr. Adams and Mr. Pickering, I have been lately
informed, from the best authority, was of a longer
standing. It arose upon the nomination of Mr.
Johnson to the stamp-office. ...Johnson was a tory,
and adhered to or fled with the British after our
revolution, and resided in England until within the
last three years, where John Quincy Adams mar^
ried a daughter of Mr. Johnson. Upon the nomi-
nation of this gentleman, Mr. Pickering had the
honesty to offer his opinion against him.

Mr. Adams has had the credit of proposing to
make the President's office hereditary in the fami-
ly of Lund Washington, the General having no
heirs. This fact, however, is not ascertained as to
period or place, and it appears either contradictory
or a mark of additional instability of character, when
considered with another fact satisfactorily authen-
ticated. At the manufactory of Seve near Paris,
there is made the finest porcelain in the world....
the directors of that work, soon after the peace of
1783, had executed a miniature of General Wash-
ington, and another of Dr. Franklin, executed in
porcelain, and beautifully ornamented. Over the
bust of General Washington the courtly fancy of
the artist had placed a regal crown, over that of
the Doctor, a cap of liberty. These miniatures

OF JOHN ADAMS. 499

were exhibited for some time in the chamber of
Congress, and there Mr. Adams, with a pen-knife,
mutilated the crown placed over the General's head.
The Doctor's miniature escaped the hand of the
Goth, by the accidental interposition of a member
of Congress. The porcelain miniature of the Ge-
neral exists still in its mutilated state, and it is be-
lieved in the possession of Mrs. Washington.

The enmity which Mr. Adams exhibited against
the memory of Dr. Franklin is also strongly mark-
ed by the persecutions of Mr. Bache, the grandson
of Dr. Franklin. Upon the appointment of John
Quincy Adams to the several embassies in Europe,
there appeared in the news-papers, published by
Mr. Bache, some strictures on the nepotism which
Mr. Adams pursued in creating offices for his rela-
tions. A letter was addressed to Mr. Bache, call-
ing on him, as the school fellow of young John, to
refrain from such strictures. The letter was in a
female hand, and a gentleman who was acquainted
with the hand writing of Mrs. Adams, asserted it
to be from her pen. Mr. Bache not choosing to
comply with the request of a woman, when the
interest of his country was at stake, suffered after-
wards the most rigorous treatment from the whole
family of our late President.

Parental affection may, in the breast of some,
excuse Mr. Adams for employing his son in a
sphere where he might acquire political knowledge j
but it ought not to be forgotten, that it was at the
public expence.

500 THE ADMINISTRATION

Some idea of the unnecessary expences that
were incurred during the administration of Mr.
Adams may be formed from the following account
of contingencies during the year 1800;

^^ Gentlemen of the Senate, and

*^ Gentlemen of the House of Bepresentatives,
"•' I now transmit to both Houses of Congress,
in conformity to law, my annual account of the ap-
plication of grants for the contingent charges of
government for the year one thousand eight hun-
dred.

" United States,
January 16, 180J/*

JOHN ADAMS.

Dais.

"January 21, 1800... .To warrant No. 497,
in favor of William Smith Shaw, for his
expences on a mission from Philadel-
phia to Mount Vernon, on pubhc bu-
siness, 50

'^^ December 3 1 ... .To balance unexpended
on this day, and subject to the orders of
the President of the United States, 19,950

20,000

" December 31, 1799.. ..By grant of twen-
ty thousand dollars, made by ** An act
making appropriations for the support
of government, for the year 1799," pass-

OF JOHN ADAM6. 501

Ihls.
ed on tlic 2cl March, 1799, and which
remained subject to the orders of the
President of the United States, at the
close of that year, according to a state-
ment rendered under date of January,
17, 1800, 20,000

'^Treasury Department, Register's office,
January, 14, 1800.
" JOSEPH NOURSE, Register."

" TREASURY DEPARTMENT.

" December 30, 1800.
" I hereby certify, that I have examined and
adjusted an account between the United Slates
and Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury, and
find the sum of Five Hundred and Ten Dollars and
eighty-four cents, is due from the United States un-
to Edward Jones, his assignee ; being the amount
of expences incurred by him on his removal from
Philadelphia to the City of Washington, as appears
from the statement and vouchers herewith transmit-
ted for the decision of the Comptroller of the Treas-
ury thereon. Dolls. 510 84.

'' R. HARRISON, Auditor.
'' To John Steele, Esq. Comptroller."

" COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE.

" I admit and certify the above balance this
thirtieth day of December, 1800.

*^JOHN STEELE, Comptroller.
*' To Joseph Nourse, Esq. Register."

502 THE ADMINISTRATION

" Account of expences incurred by Oliver Wol-
€0tt, in consequence of the removal of the govern-
ment, from Philadelphia to the City of Washing-
ton :

Dols. Cts.
" For chests and cases, and expences of

packing furniture, 152 45

** Porterage and other small expences, 31 97

*' House-rent in Philadelphia, 66 66

'' Freight of baggage and furniture, 43 92

" Loss on the sale of sundry articles of

furniture, (at least) 50 00

'' Extra-expences at Philadelphia, and in
travelling, and at the City of Washing-
ton, 165 84

510 84

"December 29, 1800.

" 1 authorise Edward Jones, Esq. to receive
payment of the above account (of this statement)
for my use.

« OLIVER WOLCOTT.

" N. B. Part of my furniture remains at Phila-
delphia, the storage and removal of which will oc-
casion further expence, which in my opinion, ought
to be borne by the United States, and will accord-
ingly be claimed by me when the amount of said
expence is ascertained.

« OLIVER WOLCOTT."

OF JOHN ADAMS. 503

The silly credulity with which Mr. Adams is
possessed, cannot be better exemplified than by
the following story :

In the summer of 1799, a person waited on Mr.
Boudinot, director of the mint, and atter soliciting
a private interview, produced several ingots of me-
tal, of a dusky white color, and left them with
Mr. Boudinot, desiring that they might be assayed,
and he would call again to learn the result, and
make a very important discovery. The ingots were
found to be one half of them of pure tin, the re-
maining half pure silver. The person on calling,
informed Mr. Boudinot, that he had been so fortu-
nate as to discover a chemical process, by which
tin was converted into silver, and that the silver
ingots which he had left, were so produced. He
suggested to Mr. Boudinot the advantages which
the country would derive by having all its silver
bullion created at home, and that by a proper use
of the secret, the mint might command the uni-
verse....that it was a dangerous thing for him to
possess it, but that he was wailing to engage with
the mint, to produce a given quantity exclusively
for the mint. Mr. Boudinot was in raptures, and
solicited the chemist to call upon him the next day.
The director of the American mint waited directly
on the President Adams, and to him communi-
cated the secret. The whole of the conversation
on this momentous discovery we cannot detail,
but it appears that Mr. Adams was equally im-
pressed with the importance and value of the sc-

504 THE ADMINISTRATION

cret, and expressed very serious apprehensions,
that if the secret were not confined to himself, the
director of the mint and the alchemist, the power
which it might give, would not only endanger the
government, but by the capacity which it gave of
encreasing the quantity of bullion, produce the
same consequences as the discovery of the Ameri-
can mines had on the Spanish monarchy. The im-
portance of preserving the secret, inviolate and ex-
clusively to themselves, was forcibly impressed,
and the negociation for securing it entrusted to the
sagacity and discretion of the director.

On the next day the alchemist produced some
more ingots, but alarms of the yellow-fever were
then general, and he pointed out the necessity of
removing the furnaces, and erecting them at some
safe distance from the city. A situation on the Del-
aware, in New- Jersey, was named, and after some
preliminaries as to the necessity of secrecy, of which
the chemist appeared to be equally earnest with the
director, there remained nothing more to be done
than to remove the apparatus and procure the re-
quisite quantity of the raw materiaL For these
purposes several hundred hard dollars, of the vul-
gar silver of South America, were advanced , and
the chemist, to prevent any suspicions in the
minds of those who might chance to see the in-
gots, took the till ingots with a view to convert
them into silver, and the silver ingots to pack
up with the quantity that was to form the first de-
livery for public use.

OF JOHN ADAMS. 505

The director left town nlong with others who
were apprehensive of the contagion, and the che-
mist departed likewise. Upon the return of Mr.
Boudinot to Philadelphia, he made enquiries for his
friend the chemist, but unhappily without success;
upon communicating this information to the Presi-
dent, he drily observed, the man mubt have died
of the yellow-fever, and perhaps fortunately for
the world. But it appears that Mr. Boudinot dis-
covered that the man did escape the disease, but
by some cause he had lost the secret so completely
as not to be able to return the money advanced to
carry on the process which was to have given Mr.
Adams the command of the universe.

Extravagance and folly characterised the last as
well as the first measures of Mr. Adams. The
benches of justice were filled with men who fought
against American Independence, and those who
have been since most active to destroy it. — Mr.
Adams determined and declared that he would
nominate to the last hour of his presidential exis-
tence, and was not sparing of a species of insult
and indecency to his successor which no man of
common sense and civility could be guilty of.

There were several Senators nominated for
Judges under a law created by themselves, though
the sixth section ot the constitution declared, that
" No Senator or Representative shall, during the
time for which he was elected, be appointed to
any civil oilice, uncKi the authority of the United
States, which bhall have been created, or the emo-

Sss

506 THE ADMINISTRATION, ^Tc.

luments whereof shall have encreased during such
time." Yet Jacob Reed of South-Carolina, Paine
of Vermont, Green of Rhode-Island, were nomi-
nated by Mr. Adams to the offices for the creation
of which they voted.

The manner in which Mr. Adams departed
from Washington after his power ceased, has even
received the censure of his warmest friends : in
place of remaining to witness the inauguration of
Mr. Jefferson like his illustrious predecessor, he
ordered his carriage ready the moment the hour of
twelve at night struck, and as if ashamed to wit-
ness in a private station, the capital of that nation
which he had for four years insulted and oppressed^
he took his departure before sun rise, and bid (it is
to be hoped) a final adieu to the seat of American
government.

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